The Knicks’ locker room, so often gloomy and morose, was full of jokes and giddiness. As reporters stepped in, Iman Shumpert shouted, “Between me and Melo, we had 66 points.’’
Anthony scored the bulk of those — a franchise and Garden record 62 points — and J.R. Smith, a longtime teammate of Anthony’s, going back to their days in Denver, knew it would be a bust-out night.
“In warm-ups, I could tell he was feeling it,’’ Smith said. “I have seen that look in his eye before. When he made his first three of four, I knew they were in trouble. Today he was serious. You could see the demeanor in his face. There are few times I see him have that look.’’
Indeed, even after Anthony drained a half-court buzzer-beater to give him 37 at halftime, he remained stonefaced — a reminder of some of LeBron James’ famous playoff performances.
“It was jawdropping,’’ Shumpert said. “We didn’t know what to do but eat some popcorn and watch.
“He gets off to starts like that all the time, but [then] he misses. After the fast start, he wasn’t missing and we just did a good job throwing it to him. When he was continuing it into the second quarter, we knew he was going to be on the rest of the night. I thought he was going to get 80.’’
He was on pace for 80 after one quarter, racking up 20.
“I saw the look in his eyes,’’ Raymond Felton said. “It was the eye of the tiger, eye of the lion. To witness that was amazing.’’
The day before, coach Mike Woodson had gone on a rant about Anthony, praising him and saying he isn’t losing his focus and expected him to fight “to the bitter end.’’
Anthony had never missed the playoffs and sounded depressed after Wednesday’s loss to the 76ers, talking about this being a “learning experience.”
After Friday’s historic effort, Woodson said: “Melo has been great and I don’t know anybody who questions his heart and ability to play this game. Since I have coached him, he has been unbelievable. Tonight was one of those special nights for him.’’
Added Smith: “When he had 37 points at halftime, you have to give it to him every time.’’
Anthony did it at power forward, as Andrea Bargnani is lost indefinitely with a torn elbow ligament. It was the first time all season the Knicks had not had Bargnani available.
“It’s great because this is [Anthony’s] team,’’ Tyson Chandler said. “Everybody is ecstatic for him.’’