Showing Desperation, the Knicks Stave Off a Defeat The Knicks had a heap of problems to address before Wednesday night's game against the Chicago Bulls, and if that was not readily apparent to the players, the coaching staff made sure to drill the message home. A whiteboard in the Knicks" locker room featured 21 "keys" that covered pretty much everything there was to cover in basketball: rebounding, defending, passing, communicating. Given the Knicks" problems this season, the list was probably necessary. For one game, at least, the Knicks were able to recover a morsel of confidence, with an 83-78 victory at Madison Square Garden. That they blew a 23-point lead did not seem to matter. That the result came against an undermanned opponent made no difference. The Knicks (6-15) are not in the business of quality wins. They are in the business of winning by any means necessary. "We so desperately needed a win tonight," Coach Mike Woodson said. Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 30 points and 10 rebounds, and Amar'e Stoudemire collected 14 points and 9 rebounds. Stoudemire, whose playing time has been restricted because of chronic knee injuries, appeared in a second consecutive game for the first time this season. "It was great to be out there playing in a desperation game," Stoudemire said. That word - "desperation" - kept surfacing afterward, and for good reason. The game nearly got away from the Knicks in the fourth quarter. Trailing by 72-56, the Bulls mounted a 12-0 run that included 3-pointers from Kirk Hinrich and Mike Dunleavy Jr. - as well as several baffling decisions by the Knicks. J. R. Smith, trapped in the backcourt, was whistled for an eight-second violation. "Chicago forces you to play hard," Woodson said. They compete. The Knicks also reverted to isolation plays, a hallmark of their recent nine-game losing streak. Anthony was caught in one such predicament, leading to a shot-clock violation, with fans voicing their disapproval. Anthony glanced at the scoreboard. The lead was shrinking. After Chicago's Joakim Noah converted a tip-in to tie the game at 74-74, Woodson called a timeout. Then, breaking precedent, the Knicks closed the game with a series of defensive stops. Stoudemire connected on a go-ahead jump shot, Anthony sank two free throws, and the Knicks survived. "I think guys realized that this was a game that we couldn't let slip out of our hands," Anthony said. The news was not all good for the Knicks. Iman Shumpert bruised his surgically repaired left knee in the third quarter and did not return. The Bulls (8-12) had arrived with their own problems. In Tuesday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, they were missing four of their top players: Derrick Rose (right knee), Luol Deng (left Achilles" tendon), Jimmy Butler (right toe) and Noah (right thigh). Noah returned against the Knicks, but the Bulls were still depleted. Under different circumstances, the Knicks might have embraced such a situation: a home game against an injury-ravaged team. Instead, the circumstances only ratcheted up the pressure. The Knicks could not lose, not again. Their last appearance at the Garden - Sunday's 41-point loss to Boston - had been a disaster, and they had compounded their woes by falling Tuesday to Cleveland. The season had reached a stage in which every game seemed to double as a referendum on Woodson's coaching ability. "It's going to be like that, man," Anthony said. When we win, the heat is off. When we lose, the heat is on. That's just our business. That's just our society. That's New York. So he can't worry about that. Woodson has been coping with a roster full of injured players. Tyson Chandler missed his 17th straight game with a broken right leg, and Raymond Felton was sidelined after reinjuring his hamstring in Tuesday's loss. Woodson could not offer a timeline on Felton's return, but he indicated that it might not be soon. Pablo Prigioni started in Felton's place against the Bulls, and each team displayed an anemic offense in the first quarter. Anthony went 3 of 6 from the field. His teammates combined to shoot 3 for 17. The Knicks trailed, 17-15. Then, in a sudden burst, the Knicks opened the second quarter with 19 straight points. Stoudemire, an active presence at both ends, led the surge. He caused two turnovers. He blocked a shot. He drew a charge. He also scored 6 points during the run as the Knicks seized a 17-point lead. The Garden was buzzing. When Stoudemire exited for a breather, he received an ovation from the crowd. "He's come a long way," Woodson said. The Knicks kept the energy going. Kenyon Martin, who turns 36 this month, summoned a bit of youthful vigor, blocking three shots on a single possession. It was part of a stout defensive effort as the Knicks limited the Bulls to 26.1 percent shooting from the field en route to a 46-32 lead at halftime. The Knicks continued to play cohesive basketball deep into the second half, until they decided not to play cohesive basketball. It all felt so familiar - the turnovers, the miscues, the one-on-one play. Everything, in other words, except for the final result. "We had to figure out a way to pull this one out," Anthony said. I guess it sinks in when you get tired of losing.