NBA

Knicks defeat 76ers

Carmelo Anthony said he is on a “personal vendetta’’ to erase the Knicks’ identity as a club that can’t play defense. Anthony heard it all offseason after the four-game playoff sweep to Boston and doesn’t want to hear it again.

This season, the Knicks’ image is changing fast. Last night, they played better defense than the league’s best defensive club in a 85-79 statement win over the red-hot, Atlantic Division-leading 76ers at Madison Square Garden. It was the Knicks’ fourth straight victory.

Neither Anthony nor rookie sensation Iman Shumpert could throw the ball into the Hudson, but who cares except maybe coach Mike D’Antoni, whose team is winning with defense, as strange as that sounds.

“That’s in the back of our mind,’’ Anthony said of erasing the no-defense moniker following the Boston sweep. “For me, personally, I’m on a personal vendetta. I get tired of hearing it. We get tired of hearing it. And just bringing Tyson [Chandler] on made it that much better. The last five games we’ve been doing a great job.”

It was the Knicks’ first win this season against a club with a winning record, and it also snapped the 76ers’ six-game winning streak as they held Philadelphia to 39.5 percent shooting, 35 first-half points and outrebounded Doug Collins’ crew, 46-37.

The Broadway Bigs — Chandler (13), Amar’e Stoudemire (10) and Anthony (nine) — combined for 32 rebounds. At the 10-game mark, the Knicks are 6-4, having held their last four opponents to under 100 points and their last three to under 90. So what if their offense is an eyesore. They still built a 17-point lead in the fourth.

“Once we got Tyson, everybody was saying Tyson as the key to the defensive changes, but it was going to start with myself and Amar’e to help him out,’’ Anthony said. “We can’t rely on Tyson to do everything out there. As long as I’m out there putting the effort forth and Amar’e is doing the same thing, going for loose balls, rebounding, talking, we’ll be a great defensive team. ’’

D’Antoni doesn’t seem that enthused at the gap between his team’s offense and defense. After all, D’Antoni earned his $24 million contract as an offensive guru.

“That’s solid,’’ D’Antoni said of the D. “Our offense is real stagnant. ’’

D’Antoni said he believes the Knicks have to become sharper offensively to be conference-title contenders. Perhaps he realizes part of last night’s success was because of the 76ers (7-3) playing their third game in three nights — the lousiest aspect of the 66-game lockout schedule.

“We can’t keep having the game in the 70’s and think it’s all right,’’ D’Antoni said.

Anthony finished with 27 points but had zero field goals in the fourth quarter, going 0-for-6. He shot a pitiful 9 of 24, and forced too much on isolation plays. He did have five assists and made all eight of his free throws, including a pair with 16 seconds left after getting fouled intentionally that officially salted the game away at at 85-79.

D’Antoni said Chandler and rookie point guard Iman Shumpert have changed the defensive complexion. Certainly this was an evening Shumpert (10 points) looked shaky on offense, but he kept making defensive plays to be a positive. Shumpert shot 5 of 15, committed four turnovers, but had four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. His steals and block were converted into six fastbreak points.

Early in the fourth, Shumpert got a block and hit Toney Douglas with a long feed for a breakaway layup. One possession later, Shumpert was at it again, ripping the ball from Jrue Holiday and firing it inside to Stoudemire for a dunk. The Garden exploded as the Knicks shot up 78-61 with 8:59 left.

Stoudemire scored 20 points, had 10 rebounds and shot 8 of 14. Chandler had just three points and four turnovers but had 13 rebounds and made a key final-minute steal on a driving Thaddeus Young in the final minute.

Meanwhile, the Knicks’ other rookie, center Josh Harrellson, provided an offensive spark with 13 points off the bench. But, last night, the defense was the star.

“Defense is more than getting stops,’’ Chandler said. “It’s getting the ball and everyone’s pitching in.’’