TORONTO — Carmelo Anthony got a good chuckle at tough guy Tyler Hansbrough’s meek reaction Monday night when he realized which character he was jostling against. And Anthony commended his new teammate, Metta World Peace, for still having the juice at age 33 to play the part of enforcer and not losing his head.
On a play that became a video hit on the web, Hansbrough got rough during a scramble underneath getting entangled with World Peace.
When World Peace followed Hansbrough out of the scramble, the former UNC star turned, realized it was the former Ron Artest and patted him on the stomach, saying, “My bad. My bad.’’
When asked if he saw the play, Anthony laughed.
“I was standing right there,” Anthony said. “I had front-row, courtside seats. I saw Tyler’s apology. It was all good.”
That element will be welcomed on the Knicks, said Anthony. Former Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald just may have built the nastiest team in the league with World Peace, J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin, Tyson Chandler and even Iman Shumpert.
“We like that over here in New York,’’ Anthony said. “I haven’t seen that from Ron in a long time. Good to see he still has that. It’s also good to see how controlled he is and he can control himself.”
World Peace learned Hansbrough took abuse on the web for backing down and came to his defense via several tweets: “Tyler Hansbrough is a tough kid. Stop being silly people!!! He is going to be a champ one day. Keep being tough Tyler!! … Fighting doesn’t make u tough. Win n’ does.’’
Meanwhile, Anthony said he is thrilled to be going against the physical defense of World Peace in practice every day.
“I love it, I love it,’’ Anthony said. “He’s pushing me, physically pushing me on the defensive end. With him guarding me, I don’t want to see people beat up in practice but the way he plays very physical, it helps me. It makes the game that much easier when I come into a basketball game.’’
Woodson all but said he expects to keep injured summer-league sensation, 6-foot-10 big man Jeremy Tyler, on the roster.
Woodson said he won’t know for sure until roster meetings that will occur Friday with new general manager Steve Mills, the scouts, and owner James Dolan.
“We got to nurse him back and develop him and see if he can help us,’’ Woodson said. “We were high on him. Unfortunately he broke his foot. We owe him that. We got to do that. We got to wait and see.’’
Keeping Tyler would leave only two open spots with one likely being taken by guard Tour’e Murry. The other is a battle between the three big men with non-guaranteed deals — Cole Aldrich, Josh Powell and Ike Diogu, who has played the most ruggedly. (C.J. Leslie and Chris Smith appear longshots after so-so camps). Tyler, who had foot surgery in early September, is still in a walking boot but has a partially guaranteed contract. Tyler said he isn’t ready for action for “a few weeks.
“My hopes are high,’’ Tyler told The Post. “It would be great if they did. Certain circumstances, I totally understand. I’m not expecting it. I’m just here to work every day.’’