BOSTON — The Knicks can still make this a Black Friday for the Celtics with a win tonight.
The Knicks try to win their first-round Eastern Conference series in six games, try to get their dynamic duo of Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith safely into the second round and ease the panic foaming across Manhattan. And it’s not going to be easy.
The Celtics have risen from the dead.
After dropping two straight games to Boston, pilloried for their funeral-black wardrobe stunt that backfired in Game 5 Wednesday, the Knicks enter the lion’s den of TD Garden for Game 6 under fire.
If they lose again, Game 7 is Sunday at the Garden with a chance at everlasting ignominy as, with a loss in that one, they’d become the first NBA team to fold after leading a series 3-0. The Celtics, meanwhile, are looking to become just like the 2004 Red Sox, who rallied from 3-0 down to beat the Yankees in seven games.
“People are going to panic,’’ Iman Shumpert said. “Media, fans, everybody’s going to panic and stuff like that. We can’t do that. We’ve just got to play basketball.’’
Just days ago, the Knicks were the toasts of the town. Now they are slowly becoming a league punch line. Mike Woodson reprimanded them yesterday for wearing all black to symbolize the Celtics’ funeral. Boston reserve Jordan Crawford got in the last word on Anthony following the Game 5 buzzer, with an alleged vulgar crack about his wife, La La Vasquez.
“We got up 3-0, everyone was on the bandwagon and on our side,’’ Tyson Chandler said. “Now we’re expected [to win]. The thing we got to do is win Game 6 and move on. It would have been great to sweep them or win in five. Now we got to finish the job in six.’’
Anthony is coming off two straight clunkers and Smith became the goat of Game 5 when he returned from a one-game suspension and started 0- for-10. He didn’t make a field goal until the final two minutes and finished 3 of 14.
If their superstar and Sixth Man of the Year don’t play to their roles, the Knicks could become baked beans. Anthony is battling a sore left shoulder after getting tugged at by Kevin Garnett in the fourth quarter. He needed treatment yesterday. Smith simply was fighting the shooting yips.
“I don’t know what’s in J.R.’s head,’’ Woodson said when asked if Smith was pressing. “He didn’t have a J.R.-like game. We got to hope that’s behind us. And he’s got to be ready to come out and give us a J.R. game.
“J.R. struggled. He missed his first 10 shots. We haven’t seen that all season out of J.R. I’m hoping that’s not going to be the case [tonight].’’
The Knicks haven’t scored more than 90 points in the series. Anthony, who has lost in the first round eight of his nine seasons in the league, is shooting 39.4 percent. He’s a combined 18 of 59 in the last two games — 0-for-12 from 3-point land.
“He’s had a couple of bad games,’’ Woodson said. “He had three good games when we won three in a row. It’s playoff basketball. It happens. I’m not making excuses. I’m expecting him to have a big-game [tonight]. He and J.R. both.’’
Neither Melo nor Smith made themselves available to the media yesterday. Indeed, the pressure is mounting on the former Denver duo.
“The mood of the team is there’s a sense of urgency,’’ Woodson said. “It’s not going to be easy by any means going to Boston and getting a win there. We still control our own destiny. We have won in Boston. We have to see what we’re made of. They came here and took a game on our floor and we got to get it back.’’
Raymond Felton has picked up the slack, averaging 18.4 points on 48.8 percent shooting, but can’t do it alone.
“They’re human,’’ Felton said. “Things like that happen. Somebody else has got to try to be aggressive, try to make some scoring, if those guys are having a bad shooting night.’’
Woodson said he’d make changes with the offense. The Knicks’ ball movement has been lax, with an increase in isolation plays.
“They’re averaging 82 points and we’re 87 a game,’’ Woodson said. “There’s not been a lot of offense either way. A lot of it is both teams are pretty good defensively. It’s been a grind.’’
— Mark Hale contributed
to this report
marc.berman@nypost.com