Amar'e getting team effort, wins he wanted

Kanye West slipped into the multi-purpose room at the Garden and took a position in the back of the room while Amar'e Stoudemire addressed the media Thursday night after the Knicks' rousing 93-88 win over the Heat.

For a moment, you had to wonder if he might interrupt the session, grab the microphone and tell Amar'e that although he had another strong performance with 24 points and eight rebounds, Danilo Gallinari had the best game of the night.

And that Landry Fields had the best highlight - the electrifying dunk attempt off a Stoudemire free-throw miss in the first half that drew a foul in the midst of a six-point possession for the Knicks.

But that would only make Stoudemire smile, because it's performances such as those by Gallinari (20 points, clutch three-pointer with 1:18 left to give the Knicks the lead for good at 86-84) and Fields (19 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, clutch three-pointer with 49.2 seconds left to make it 89-84) that will get this team to the playoffs in April.

And on the night Stoudemire became the first Knick since Patrick Ewing to be voted an All-Star starter, Stoudemire credited it the fact that the Knicks (24-21) had a winning record. "Any time you get individual accolades, it is because the team is winning,'' he said, "so it's more of a team accomplishment.''

It was a mantra Stoudemire repeated in training camp, when he was first looking to establish himself as the leader he has become for this franchise that so desperately needed one. "Everybody's popularity will rise,'' he said in October, "if we win.''

Popularity was evident along celebrity row, where the young Knicks ogled the Who's Who collection of stars that, yes, included West and several other notable icons in pop culture.

"This is what we live for at the Garden, you know,'' Shawne Williams said. "We've got every superstar sitting in the front row that you could even name.''

And, for a change, they weren't just here to see - and cheer for - the opponent. Stoudemire has helped make it cool to be a Knicks fan again.

"I think people enjoy coming in and seeing their guy,'' Donnie Walsh said. "We haven't had that for a while in New York. Having a guy like him, it's like the cornerstone.''

As LeBron James put it, the Knicks "needed a piece to get them over the hump and make them a contender again. He's done that.''

So what would adding Carmelo Anthony do?

"I'm not a speculation guy,'' LeBron said. "I like to see what happens and when it happens, I'll make a comment about it. The No. 1 thing is being happy. It doesn't matter where that's at.''

Stoudemire is only a half-year into his five-year, $100-million contract, but he's already playing himself into the franchise's history book on the Big Man Mount Rushmore with Patrick Ewing and Willis Reed. A five-time All-Star in the West during his career in Phoenix, Stoudemire earned the fewest votes (1,674,995) of the five East starters, but what matters is he finished with more than the Celtics' Kevin Garnett (1,407,601).

But the Knicks need to learn a lesson from the Ewing era, in which he spent most of his career as the lone star on a team with a hard-working supporting cast that came close but couldn't win a championship.

At least the Knicks can say they have the first piece in place. When LeBron decided not to take his talents to Midtown South, Stoudemire initially was viewed as a consolation prize in the long-anticipated 2010 free-agency sweepstakes. But he's put forth a performance not even Kanye would dare to interrupt.

Said Walsh, "He was a guy that said, 'I want to play in New York. I want this . . . ' ''

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