Carmelo steals show and it's OK by Amar'e

GREENBURGH, N.Y -- At the start of the season, the city was his. A billboard in Times Square, an appearance on David Letterman and MVP chants that echoed in Amar'e Stoudemire's ears as he drifted off to sleep in his tony West Village penthouse.

But as the season winds down, it's Carmelo Anthony who is the celebrated new arrival. He has not one but two midtown billboards, he's being serenaded with choruses of "Mel-O, Mel-O" from the Garden all the way to his SoHo condo, and Saturday night. he made a cameo appearance on "Saturday Night Live.''

While the All-Stars continue to develop as cohabitants on the court, there are questions about whether they can share the attention off the court. Even before the trade, Stoudemire welcomed the idea of teaming with another star, and he has yet to show otherwise. "There's always enough room for a few superstars," Stoudemire said after Saturday's two-hour practice at MSG Training Center. "It's just a matter of us continuing to win and continuing to play together as a team. That's the most important thing. I can give a little of the spotlight and take some of the light off of me."

New York, New York, it's a wonderful town. Carmelo is up but Amar'e is down. Anthony will bring a torrid streak of scoring more than 35 points in three straight games (36-39-39) into Sunday night's game against the Cavaliers. But a worn-down Stoudemire, who carried the team for three-quarters of the season, is sputtering down the stretch. After averaging 28.0 points in the first 11 games after the Anthony trade, Stoudemire is averaging 19.6 points in the last 10, well below his season average of 25.5 points.

"I think he's kind of tired of trying to go out there and score 30 or 40 points," said Anthony, who is averaging 26.3 points since the trade to the Knicks. "He's been doing that this whole season. He's been carrying the team on his back this whole season and having an MVP year, having one of the best seasons of his career so far."

But in order for this team to be anything more than a playoff also-ran -- right now, things are setting up for a first-round meeting with the Heat or the Celtics -- they're going to need to get Stoudemire back on track. After getting what essentially was two days off before Saturday's practice, he declared himself recharged. "I feel great," he said. "I feel really, really good. I'm refreshed."

The Knicks have struggled against Cleveland. The Cavaliers have the league's worst record (15-60), but three of their wins have come against the Knicks -- two since the trade. "We'll definitely be up for this game," Anthony said. "I can tell you that for a fact."

There also could be more than just avoiding a season sweep on the line. If the Knicks win and the Bobcats lose to the Wizards Sunday night, the Knicks will clinch a playoff berth with 10 days -- and six games -- remaining.

"That's been the goal from the start of the year," Stoudemire said. "That's what we've been striving for since training camp."

Notes & quotes:

Chauncey Billups sat out most of practice because of a problemhe was having with a new pair of sneakers he was wearing . . . Rookie Andy Rautins hasn't played much this season, but he had a debridement procedure to clean out some tissue in his left knee. He will be sidelined for the rest of the season . . . Ronny Turiaf, who has missed the last three games with a strained ankle, is expected to return tonightSunday night.