"Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony had a talk about how to coexist more productively, and they agreed neither has to take a back seat to the other. They both can excel.

"We have been talking, talked a little bit [Sunday] night, talked more this morning about how we both can dominate the game on both ends of the court,'' Stoudemire said. "Carmelo's a phenomenal player. He wants to win. It definitely will get better as a unit and as a team for sure.''

After the Knicks' sixth straight loss, to the Nuggets Saturday night in double overtime, Anthony went on a reflective rant, saying "maybe'' he has to shoot less and get Stoudemire the ball more. Stoudemire's scoring average is down to 17.6 points from last season's 25.3."