Anthony's 39 Points Wasted in Pacers" 40-Point Fourth Quarter INDIANAPOLIS - At their best Tuesday night, the Knicks were fluid and forceful, looking potent despite their injuries and their recent run of bad fortune. At their worst, they were merely flustered and angry. They got a season-high 39 points from Carmelo Anthony, who looked entirely capable of holding them up despite the losses of Jeremy Lin and Amar'e Stoudemire. They had a 17-point lead in the second half. But Anthony and his teammates misfired when it mattered most, and the Knicks lost the lead and their composure in a stunning 112-104 defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks fell back to .500, at 27-27, and their lead over Milwaukee for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference slipped to one and a half games. Anthony was blistering for most of the night, going 17 for 31 from the field and grabbing 10 rebounds. But he missed two critical shots down the stretch. With Tuesday's scoring flurry, Anthony leaped past the Knicks Hall of Famer Walt Frazier - as well as Terry Porter and Elton Brand - on the N.B.A."s career scoring list. Anthony now has 15,607 points, placing him 103rd on the list. Frazier has 15,581 points, 106th on the career list. Steve Novak's 3-pointer gave the Knicks an 87-70 lead late in the third quarter and sent their entire bench into happy hysterics. They were ready for a rout and a celebration. Their mood changed quickly as the Pacers stormed back with a 31-6 run, taking a 101-93 lead late in the fourth quarter. Anthony answered with a 3-point play, a 3-pointer and an 18-footer as the Knicks cut the deficit to 103-101. But they never got the lead back, and Danny Granger put the game away at the foul line. J. R. Smith was ejected with 10.7 seconds left for viciously throwing Leandro Barbosa to the court. By then, the game had been lost. Stoudemire has not spoken publicly about his back injury since the day the Knicks shut him down, more than a week ago. He maintained the silence Tuesday, though he chatted amiably with reporters on other topics before the game. Asked why he would not talk about his back, Stoudemire said: "Just in silent mode, man. Focused. A few minutes later, he headed to the court to shoot free throws, with his sweatshirt hood pulled tight (a tribute to Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager who was killed in February). Coach Mike Woodson has repeatedly referred to Stoudemire as "day to day," but the official recovery window of two to four weeks - announced on March 28 - remains unchanged. Stoudemire received an epidural shot last week, and his back is said to be responding well. "I keep saying "day to day," in hopes that he might come back," Woodson said. But after taking his shot, they're still saying 2-4 weeks. All I can do is wait. Although mum with the news media, Stoudemire has been chatty on Twitter, and he dropped an interesting name Tuesday, praising Kentucky's John Calipari, who is often mentioned as a candidate to coach the Knicks. "I truly love that interview that @UKCoachCalipari had on @espn," Stoudemire wrote. Although the message was more innocent than it sounded. Stoudemire was heavily recruited by Calipari when Calipari was at Memphis and Stoudemire was a Florida high school star. Stoudemire gave an oral commitment to Memphis before declaring for the draft. Although Calipari has publicly stated that he has no interest in the Knicks" job, his name will remain in the discussion because of his high profile, his success and his ties to the franchise through various channels. Calipari is represented by Creative Artists Agency, which also represents Anthony, Smith and Allan Houston, the Knicks" assistant general manager. Yet with every victory, Woodson bolsters his case to secure the permanent job. Bob Knight, Woodson's mentor and former coach at Indiana University, told ESPN.com that the Knicks would be "idiotic" not to keep him. "That's Coach Knight," Woodson said with a smile. I've got a great deal of respect for Coach Knight, and he has a great deal of respect for me. He's watched me over the years build a team in Atlanta and in the short time that I've been here. I wouldn't expect him probably to say anything less than that. Jared Jeffries missed his seventh straight game because of a sore right knee. His return remains undetermined.