CLEVELAND — The first thought was either Carmelo Anthony was as clumsy as an inebriated goat or the lines on the court at Quicken Loans Arena are really high.
With 6:48 left in the first half, Anthony sought a pass from Jason Kidd and hit the floor. When Anthony arose, he went to the locker room.
Upon further review — like after the Knicks marched back from 22 points down for a 102-97 victory over the Cavs last night — the nature of Anthony’s problem surfaced.
Anthony has battled a sore right knee for “a couple weeks,” he said, feeling enough discomfort to warrant an MRI “a couple days ago.” That test came back clean and Anthony believes there is nothing seriously wrong. Still, leading scorer plus any soreness or stiffness equals worry.
“My knee gave out. My leg gave out,” said Anthony, who did not undergo X-rays or an additional MRI last night.
Then Anthony uttered what most Knicks backers would find the most soothing words of the night.
“We don’t think it’s too serious at all,” said Anthony, who added no determination has been made yet for his availability at Detroit tomorrow.
Anthony (season-low six points in just 14:15) has missed seven games this season (six by injury, one via NBA suspension). He said his knee bothered him yesterday but he tried to play. Coach Mike Woodson knew something was amiss.
“One time he wanted to come out so obviously it was bothering him,” said Woodson, who added there will be more evaluations today. “He never asks to come out of the game.”
“Before the game,” Anthony said, “ I felt like I was dragging my right leg and then that one particular possession I didn’t really have the control that I wanted to … and I kind of tripped over my other leg.”
And he felt a problem way before gametime.
“One day I went and took an MRI on it just to get some clarity on it and the MRI came back great, wasn’t really nothing,” he said, noting tendinitis has been ruled out. “So there’s nothing we can figure out at this moment.
“You know how some days you wake up and you just really don’t feel right? I came out here and I tried to warm up and I still wasn’t feeling right. I thought it was going to loosen up before the game. Then throughout the game some of the things that I was doing, I felt like I was dragging my leg.”
So Anthony, who referenced the knee Sunday after the Miami game, got introduced to the floor.
“We had a fastbreak and Jason Kidd threw the ball ahead so I tried to catch it and turn at the same time and I kind of tripped,” Anthony said.
In the locker room the medical staff “did manual tests, like ligament tests and things but there’s no problems like that. All the ligaments are fine. It was just real tight, real sore in the back.”
fred.kerber@nypost.com