OKLAHOMA CITY — Carmelo Anthony may not play until Tuesday at the earliest, but the good news is it appears he has no structural damage in his back, just spasms.
Anthony got in a light shooting workout before the Knicks’ humiliating 105-78 loss to the Thunder on Friday night, but is more worried about how his back responds to that workout than even thinking about suiting up Sunday against the Heat at the Garden.
Anthony revealed he is still experiencing minor back spasms, but “80 percent’’ of them have disappeared. With the Knicks traveling Saturday from Oklahoma City and not practicing, it’s highly unlikely Anthony will be in position to play before the Knicks host the Nets on Tuesday. He missed his second straight game on Friday.
The good news is testing done at a Houston urgent care facility suggested Anthony suffered a back injury that is associated with muscle spasms as opposed to spasms caused by disk damage, which would be more serious and related to wear and tear.
“It was kind of like a whiplash,’’ Anthony said. “A quick turn and my back just spasmed. Nothing related to my knee or other part of my body.
“Maybe 80 percent of it is gone. It’s still in one area, trying to get it out of that one area. There’s still part of it right there that’s just not trying to go away.’’
Anthony told The Post on Wednesday in Dallas he won’t play if he still has spasms. But he has made a lot of progress since Monday night’s incident.
“[I feel] much better,’’ Anthony said. “Considering the fact a day-and-a-half ago I couldn’t even walk or get out of the bed, I’m just happy I could get a little light workout today and work toward getting back on the court.’’
Team members have told reporters all week about the extent of Anthony’s pain late Monday night after the injury.
“You have go through that experience and have those spasms to really understand what they feel like,’’ Anthony said. “To me, it felt like it was never, ever going to be better. I thought the spasms would never ever go away. From not being able to straighten out my back, up to not even being able to get out of bed to walking and shooting a little bit. I’ve made huge strides in the last couple of days.’’
J.R. Smith previously had discussed Anthony’s scary state that night in Houston after the game.
“I couldn’t talk,’’ Anthony said. “Teammates were coming up to me and asking me if I was OK. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t talk, couldn’t move. I couldn’t scratch my forehead to see where I was at. I never experienced any type of pain like that. I actually tried to come out there on the court [in Houston]. No way I could get off the training table.’’
“Today was the first day I could do anything. I’m excited about that.’’
Knicks coach Derek Fisher said it’s too early to think of a return until Anthony has some work with the club. When asked about Sunday, it didn’t seem to be on Anthony’s radar.
“I’m worried about how my back will be going to react to what I just did,’’ Anthony said. “I wanted to get out here and try to shoot and feel it out. [Saturday’s] a traveling day for us. Maybe I’ll get in a workout before I leave.’’
Anthony just did shooting drills and didn’t run.
“Everything felt good, it’s a matter or running and putting the pounding on it,’’ Anthony said.
As speculated, Anthony injured his back after landing on a jump shot late in the second quarter Monday.
“I made a shot, took a jump shot on the left wing,’’ Anthony said. “I came down and when I went to run back on defense. I felt something as I turned around. It was a timeout on the bench, I was breathing real heavy.’’
When he went back on the court, he went in a defensive stance and “I couldn’t get back up.’’
Anthony is receiving alignments, massages and manipulations, and going through stretching exercises. He is trying to get off the pain medication after being loaded up late Monday night when he had his back tests.
“I went to the hospital, they gave me medicine,’’ Anthony said. “I don’t know what they gave me, but I got on the plane and next thing I knew I was in Dallas.’