"Clearly, Carmelo Anthony longs to have two of the Knicks' key injured players back on the court. Actually, three of the Knicks' key injured players.

"I miss Amar'e [Stoudemire]. I miss Iman [Shumpert]. BD is not even here yet. I miss him too," Anthony said yesterday, referring to Baron Davis. "But the guys that are out there, we just want them to keep playing with the confidence that they have."

Anthony and the Knicks will likely welcome Stoudemire and Shumpert back tonight to restore nearly the team's full rotation. Stoudemire has missed the last two games with a sprained left ankle, and Shumpert has missed the last four games with a sprained right MCL."