When Carmelo Anthony exited tonight’s game with a knee injury after falling to the ground, it would have been easy for the New York Knicks to concede to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After all, the Knicks were trailing by 22 points midway through the second quarter on the road during the second game of a back-to-back.

But, instead of giving up, the Knicks showed desire and heart, and with the lead of Amar’e Stoudemire, came all the way back to defeat the Cavaliers by a final score of 102 to 97.

Stoudemire (10-15) scored 22 points with two rebounds, six assists and one block, while Steve Novak added 15 points.

If tonight does anything for the Knicks other than give them another tally in the win column, hopefully it allows Mike Woodson to realize what many of us have known for months: Amar’e Stoudemire needs to get more minutes.

It doesn’t necessarily mean he needs to start–although I do believe that it does–but it does mean that Amar’e needs 30+ minutes per game and the majority of the minutes in the fourth quarter, especially the final minutes of the game.

Of course, tonight’s result shouldn’t get confused: the Knicks are most certainly not a better player without Carmelo Anthony.

Carmelo is this team’s superstar and he is one of the league’s top five players–there is no debating that.

What tonight should make clear is not that Carmelo is less valuable than we think, but instead that Amar’e is much more valuable than his minutes per game would suggest.

Stoudemire is easily the second best player on this team, and he deserves to be treated like it.

That means that when the Knicks need a big basket and the defense focuses on Carmelo, don’t turn to J.R. Smith or Raymond Felton, turn to Amar’e Stoudemire.

As he showed tonight with his second-effort bucket to give the Knicks a four point lead with 40 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Stoudemire can make the big play at the right time.

It’s clear as day to the majority of us that Stoudemire deserves a bigger role.

It’s now time for Woodson to realize it.

After dropping four straight games, the visibly frustrated New York Knicks were sick of losing.

And on Sunday night, the Knicks’ bottled up frustration came out in the form of energy and effort en route to a 99-93 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Tyson Chandler highlighted the defensive effort with 12 rebounds and three blocked shots as New York held the opposing Sixers to just 40 first half points and 42 percent shooting.

Despite a poor shooting night, Carmelo Anthony (6-18) scored a team-high 29 points, while Amar’e Stoudemire added 22 off the bench on an efficient 9 of 10 shooting.

It wasn’t always pretty, but the Knicks did what they had to do in order to get victory number 33 on the season; New York made 27 of its 35 attempts from the charity stripe and capitalized on numerous second chance point opportunities.

However, the defensive effort and offensive score at all costs mentality weren’t the only forms of energy and excitement that the Knicks showed.

Staying true to Atlantic Division fashion, the game got rough with about seven and a half minutes remaining in the third quarter as Carmelo Anthony appeared to hit Sixers’ center Spencer Hawes in the back of the head while the two fought for rebounding position.

Tyson Chandler, Spencer Hawes fight

As the video suggests, the events that transpired went something like this: Carmelo hits Hawes in the head, Hawes doesn’t appreciate the gesture and thus jaws at Melo, Tyson comes to his teammate’s defense by shoving Hawes, and then everyone gets involved.

Carmelo was awarded a flagrant-1 for his actions, while Tyson Chandler and Spencer Hawes each received technicals, but one would have to think that the league will be looking further into this.

Although it’s not something that should happen with much frequency, the Carmelo Anthony/Tyson Chandler vs. Spencer Hawes incident was almost nice to see.

It showed that the Knicks’ recent struggles have done nothing to disrupt their fiery passion nor their bond as a team.

Tyson didn’t have to stick up for Carmelo and risk being ejected from the game, but he did, because this Knicks team truly is a team. No matter what kind of adversity they have had to face this season, the Knicks have continually overcame it.

And, with their four game losing streak now behind them, maybe tonight was a sign of better things to come.

For the Knicks, tonight’s agenda was simple: win the game and proceed into All-Star weekend on a high note with a more than comfortable lead in the Atlantic Division.

What happened: In a traditional Atlantic Division slugfest, the New York Knicks knocked off the reeling Boston Celtics, 89-86.

With the win, the Knicks improve to 26-14 and moved a full game above the Brooklyn Nets in the division, in addition to holding a two game advantage in the loss column.

The loss for the Celtics is their fifth straight, as Boston (20-22) is now two games under the .500 mark.

Revenge?: Tonight’s game was the first meeting between the two teams since the infamous altercation that took place between Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Garnett on January 7th following a Celtics win.

This time, Carmelo got the best of KG, scoring 28 points to a mere eight points from Garnett. More importantly, Anthony was on the winning side.

Resilient J.R.: In a fashion that could not suit him better, J.R. Smith began the game making just two of his first 15 shots, only to save the game late for his team.

With just over a minute remaining and the Knicks clinging to a two-point lead, Smith hit a three-pointer that immediately erased his poor performance earlier in the game and gave New York a two possession lead.

A few possession changes later, and it was once again Smith making the big play, this time on the defensive end. Guarding Paul Pierce, Smith was able to force the Celtic superstar to lose the ball out of bounds with just seven seconds left. From there, New York was able to run the clock out.

Stat really back: As he continues to improve, Amar’e Stoudemire once again had his best performance to date this season. Stat scored 15 points on over 50% shooting, while collecting nine rebounds in just 20 minutes.

Most intriguing, the team seemed to play significantly better on both ends of the court with Stoudemire in the game.

Up next: The Knicks will travel to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers this Saturday, before coming back to Madison Square Garden for a five game homestand. Of the next eight opponents on the Knicks schedule, just one has a winning record, as the Knicks look to build on their division lead.

How it went down:

The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs, 100-83, securing a season sweeping of Greg Popovich’s club.

The Knicks last met the Spurs in mid-November, needing to rally back from being down 12 points late in the fourth to steal a win. This time, however, the game went much smoother for New York.

Despite leading by just two at the halfway point, the Knicks blew the game open in the second half, leading at one point by 25 points.

Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 23 points after a strong second half offensively, while also grabbing eight rebounds.

The win gives the Knicks a record of 22-10 on the season, good for a five game lead in the Atlantic Division and second in the Eastern Conference.

Despite a stat line (no pun intended) that was very average–just 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field–Amar’e Stoudemire took a big leap forward from his performance on Tuesday night in the loss to Portland.

Stoudemire had multiple shots rim out, and, more importantly, seemed to fit right into the Knicks’ system.

He had a +/- of +9 and played well with Carmelo Anthony when the two were on the floor together, something that many critics had doubted was possible. It’s just one game, but it is an encouraging sign.

Back to the basics:

After more than two weeks of inconsistency on the defensive side of the ball, New York reminded its fans of the Knicks team that began the season as the best defensive team in the league.

Against the best offensive team in the NBA, the Knicks allowed just 83 points, the lowest total that the Spurs have had in a loss this season, and their second lowest scoring effort overall.

New York held San Antonio to just 36% shooting from the field, while no Spurs player scored over 12 points.

In another turn of events, the Knicks–a perfect example of a poor rebounding team–out-rebounded the Spurs by 13 en route to 48 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive glass.

Tyson Chandler led the way with 14 boards, and every Knick that entered the game pulled down at least two rebounds.

Led by five three-pointers from Steve Novak, New York shot an efficient 44% from downtown, making 12 of its 27 attempts. Meanwhile, San Antonio made just nine of its 34 attempts from distance.

Up next:

The Knicks next take the court on Saturday night, when they travel to Orlando to face the Magic.

It’s not often that a December basketball game can be dubbed a must-win. And, for the now 21-8 New York Knicks, maybe tonight’s meeting with the Phoenix Suns wasn’t a must-win.

However, having lost three of their previous five games, it was clear that the Knicks were desperate to put a halt to the slide.

And they did just that, reiterating what has been a common theme throughout the season: just find a way to win. Even without the likes of Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton, New York was able to find a way to win.

To do so, they turned to the stars that were available, namely Jason Kidd and J.R. Smith.

Kidd, who has played shooting guard for the majority of the season, was asked to fill in at point guard for the injured Felton, and he certainly answered the bell. Over the course of 31 minutes, Jason strung together 23 points and eight assists, all while turning the ball over just one time.

Despite Kidd’s efforts, tonight’s player of the game was undoubtedly J.R. Smith, who scored a team-high 27 points. His stat line wasn’t nearly as impressive as Kidd’s,–J.R. tallied four turnovers and missed well over half of his shots–but his fourth quarter heroics heroics saved the game for New York.

Down 97-95, Smith hit a turnaround jumper to tie the game at 97 with under 11 seconds to play. And, after a Phoenix turnover, he quickly followed it up with a game-winning, fadeaway shot at the buzzer.

Tyson Chandler and Chris Copeland also contributed nicely, each scoring 14 points.

The Knicks will now travel to Sacramento to take on the Kings on Friday night.

The revenge game.

Following an overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets just 15 days ago, that’s exactly what tonight’s game meant to the New York Knicks when they once again faced their crosstown rivals. And, fortunately for the Knicks, the sweetest of revenge was served.

Despite a lackluster first quarter in which the Knicks were outscored by 14 points, the team fought back to cut the deficit to just four at halftime, and behind a season-high 45 points from Carmelo Anthony, New York was able to keep within striking distance of Brooklyn throughout the second half.

And that’s when Jason Kidd happened.

Tied at 97 with just 25 seconds left to play, Knicks point guard Raymond Felton hit the wide open Kidd, who did just what he has done all season long–he made the big play when it needed to be made. This time, Kidd drained a go ahead and–after the Nets failed to score–ultimately game-winning three.

It was nothing more than yet another example of the Knicks’ theme for the season: just find a way to win. Throughout the past month and a half, the Knicks have continually found ways to win, while seemingly turning to someone different every night.

Tonight it was Carmelo Anthony and Jason Kidd, and tonight it was perhaps the best-feeling victory of the season. Tonight was about validating that the Knicks still run New York, and thus about validating that they are the class of the Atlantic Division.

This rivalry was meant to be the next big thing in the NBA, and it started out better than advertised; with the two teams tied at 9-4 for first in the Atlantic following the Nets’ dramatic win on November 26th, many began to think that this would be the next great rivalry in sports.

Since then, however, the tables have dramatically turned; New York has won seven of eight, capped off with tonight’s victory, while separating themselves from the rest of the pack in the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the Nets have lost five straight, while making it obvious that they are far from elite status.

Sure, the rivalry could be special one day, but at least for now, the Knicks are the clear-cut class of New York.

The last time the New York Knicks faced the Miami Heat, they rode to a 20-point victory behind 30 points and 10 rebounds from Carmelo Anthony. However, before tonight’s match up against the defending champions in South Beach, Carmelo Anthony was ruled out with a deep finger cut.

It didn’t matter.

In what served as proof that their opening night victory was no fluke, the Knicks once again defeated the Heat by 20 points, this time without Carmelo.

And because of his absence, New York knew that the scoring load was going to need to be picked up by someone else, and thus turned to Raymond Felton.

Felton led the way with 27 points and seven assists, while five other Knicks added double digit points.

Perhaps the most impressive part about this victory for the Knicks is the fact that all signs had pointed in their opposition’s favor; the Knicks were playing the second game of a road back to back, were without Carmelo Anthony, and the Heat were ready to avenge a terrible loss to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

It might only be early December, but this game should be as encouraging for Knicks fans as it is discouraging for Heat fans.

This isn’t the same Knicks team that barely broke the .500 mark the past two seasons, nor is it the team that was bounced in just five games by the Miami Heat. No, this team is for real and they are here to stay.

Playing without their superstars isn’t as big of a deal as it was the past two seasons; there was no Carmelo Anthony tonight, and both Amar’e Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert are still weeks from returning. But, as stated earlier, it simply did not matter.

With guys like Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, Ronnie Brewer, J.R. Smith, Rasheed Wallace and Steve Novak, it is obvious this is an extremely deep team that can survive without its superstars. Now, clearly, this won’t last into the postseason, and it won’t have to–Carmelo should return on Saturday, while Shumpert and Stoudemire will both be back during this winter.

The New York Knicks sent a message tonight, one that the rest of the NBA will be receiving loud and clear: this team is a legitimate contender to not only win the Atlantic Division, but to win the Eastern Conference. The scariest part? They’re only going to get better from here on out.

Find a way to win. That’s the theme for the New York Knicks so far this season, and tonight, with Carmelo Anthony leaving the game due to injury with just over two minutes remaining, it quickly became apparent that someone else would have to step up in order for the Knicks to win, who trailed by two at the time.

And, as we have seen time and time again, this team–one so different than Knicks teams in years past–found a way to get it done.

With three seconds remaining in a tie ball game, New York turned to J.R. Smith, who was just 5 of 15 from the field up to that point, to nail the buzzer-beater that gave the Knicks their 13th win in 17 games on the season.

And forget just the final two minutes of the game; the Knicks were carried all night by guys other than Carmelo Anthony, most notably Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton.

In arguably his best game of the season, Tyson Chandler put together a more than impressive double-double as he dominated down low for the duration of the game, tallying 17 rebounds and 18 points. As for Felton, he didn’t turn the ball over in 36 minutes of play, while nearly nabbing a double by dishing out nine dimes and adding 17 points.

This style of basketball, in which there is someone different to pick the team up each night, is going to have to continue for this team to keep winning, and it likely will. While Carmelo Anthony could very well win MVP this season, the 2012-13 New York Knicks are predicated around their deep roster. It’s one so deep that it’s almost unfathomable.

Whether it’s Felton, Jason Kidd, the pesty Pablo Prigioni, Steve Novak, a rejuvinated Rasheed Wallace, J.R. Smith, Ronnie Brewer, Kurt Thomas, Tyson Chandler or, of course, Carmelo Anthony, there is always someone to hit the big shot, make the big pass, or make the important defensive stop. Oh, and this is not to mention the fact that New York is without both Iman Shumpert and Amar’e Stoudemire, and essentially without Marcus Camby for now.

The Knicks, now with a record of 13 wins and 4 losses, hold the Eastern Conference’s best record, and take on the defending champion Miami Heat tomorrow night in South Beach.

It had been ten days since the New York Knicks’ last significant victory, but Wednesday night marked the return of the team that had dominated the rest of the league through the first two weeks of the season.

Despite a slow start–the Knicks trailed by three after one quarter–New York thoroughly outplayed a good Milwaukee Bucks team in the second and third quarters to help open up an 18 point lead before the start of a meaningless fourth quarter.

Led by Carmelo Anthony (29 points) and Steve Novak (19 points), the Knicks scored 102 points on 48 percent shooting from the field and an astounding 52 percent from downtown. To complement the offensive firepower, the Knicks held Milwaukee to 88 points, marking the seventh time that New York has kept its opponent under the 90 point mark on the season.

Also adding significant contributions were point guard Raymond Felton and center Tyson Chandler–Felton scored 12 points and dished out seven assists, while Tyson brought down eight rebounds to go along with 17 points.

Following an emotionally draining loss on Monday night at the hands of the new crosstown rival Brooklyn Nets, the Knicks needed to get this win tonight. Winning truly does cure everything, and although it’s only November, tonight’s victory does help reassure that the beginning of this season was no fluke and that these Knicks are here to stay.

The win gives the Knicks a record of 10-4, and a defeat of the 1-12 Washington Wizards on Friday night would allow New York to finish November with an 11-4 mark–a very impressive record through one month of the season.

The Knicks now return home to play their next two games at The Garden before beginning a three game road trip next Wednesday night.