N.B.A. Playoffs - Knicks" Rough Patch Starts With Carmelo Anthony Andrew Gombert/European Pressphoto Agency; Barton Silverman/The New York Times The Knicks' Carmelo Anthony, left, is stuck in a shooting slump and J. R. Smith has reverted to old, bad habits. GREENBURGH, N.Y. - The search for answers began anew on Monday, the first day in two months that the Knicks were forced to confront their imperfections, rather than accent their strengths. They are facing their first deficit of the playoffs, 1-0, having been outmuscled in a 102-95 loss to the Indiana Pacers to open the Eastern Conference semifinals. They have lost three of their last four games, and their last two at Madison Square Garden, where they will try again on Tuesday night in Game 2 against Indiana. Carmelo Anthony is mired in a horrendous shooting slump. J. R. Smith has reverted to old, bad habits. And a once-fearsome offense has been neutered under the pressure of the postseason. The Knicks had other problems in Sunday's loss, which were readily conceded. They were outworked in the lane and on the boards, and their defense wilted against Indiana's beefy front line. Those are mostly effort issues, which are easily addressed. The offense is a more troublesome matter. Over the last four games - including three first-round games against Boston - Anthony has converted 35 of 110 shots from the field, for a .318 shooting percentage, a low rate even for him. He has not made half his shots in any game since the playoffs began. Smith, the Knicks" second best scorer, is 12 for 42 (.286) in the three games since he returned from a one-game suspension in the Celtics series. The Knicks will ultimately go only as far as Anthony and Smith can carry them; right now, they are having trouble generating any momentum. Their shooting woes were muted in the first round because Boston could not score, either. But this could become a fatal handicap against the Pacers, who score and defend better than the Celtics. For the first time since mid-March, Coach Mike Woodson had to talk about shot selection. "They've got to try to take better shots sometimes," Woodson said of Anthony and Smith. Sometimes, some of the difficult shots that you've been accustomed to making, that you're not making, you've got to figure out a way to get better shots. I think they're capable of doing that. Only time will tell. Although the Pacers" size presents difficulties for the Knicks - and perhaps contributed to Anthony's foul trouble in Game 1 - Woodson said he would stick with his small-ball lineup, with Anthony at power forward. Despite his shooting struggles and an injury to his left shoulder, Anthony is averaging 26.9 shots a game in the postseason, which would be the highest rate in his career. Woodson said Smith and Anthony should attack the basket more, and Anthony agreed. The Pacers and the Celtics are two of the league's best defensive teams, but Anthony said his woes had nothing to do with the opponents. "I've been seeing the same defense all year long," he said. As far as shots go, I'm not going to overanalyze that and start putting that under a microscope, because the shots that I'm taking I know I can make. They're just not going in at this point, for whatever reason. Defense carried the Knicks through the first round, albeit against a punchless Celtics team. But the Knicks" identity this season was built on their scoring prowess. They averaged 108.6 points per 100 possessions, according to N.B.A.com, the third best mark in the league. That has plummeted to 97.3 in the playoffs, a number that would have ranked last in the league. The Knicks" shooting percentage has also declined, to 41.5 percent in the playoffs from 44.8 percent in the regular season. They never broke the 90-point barrier in six games against the Celtics. They got to 95 on Sunday, but only after a 30-point fourth-quarter rally. Aside from Raymond Felton, the Knicks" supporting cast has disappeared. Jason Kidd is 0 for 10 from the field over the last five games. Tyson Chandler, whose pick-and-roll scoring was vital this season, is averaging 5 points in the playoffs. "Everybody's got to play better," Woodson said. It's not just Melo. I'm not putting it on Melo's head. This is a team. Amar'e Stoudemire played a series of full-court, three-on-three games after practice Monday - his first time scrimmaging since having knee surgery two months ago. Barring any setbacks, he should be available for Game 3 on Saturday, Mike Woodson said. The plan is for Stoudemire to scrimmage at least once more later this week. "I have no pain," Stoudemire said. Playing, running, jumping, cutting, slashing, I felt explosive. The only thing now is getting my wind back up and see how it recovers for tomorrow. Stoudemire looked spry enough as he battled Chris Copeland and Earl Barron. But his jump shot and post moves were predictably rusty. He missed from just about everywhere. He looked exhausted after 20 minutes and conceded, "I had a tough day today." He added: "I want to get in better shape, and I will. Once my cardio gets to where I want it and my health feels great and 100 percent, then I'm back out there. Stoudemire appeared in just 29 games this season, sandwiched between two operations, - on his left knee in October and on his right on March 11. Asked about the challenge of jumping into the postseason fray, after two months off, Stoudemire said: "There's no fear. Fear is false evidence appearing real. I have no fear at all." ...Steve Novak went through individual drills on the court, but his status for Game 2 remains unclear. Novak has missed two games because of back spasms.