MILWAUKEE – Carmelo Anthony grinned as he plopped down into his folding chair Wednesday night, still trying to comprehend exactly what happened as the New York Knicks romped the Milwaukee Bucks by 25 points in a season-opening victory that, for him, could easily be described as blissfully befuddling.

In his first game since having knee surgery last February, Anthony was outscored by four teammates – a former first-round bust with gold-tipped dreadlocks, two former NBA Development League call-ups and a rookie making his season debut – and matched the output of another teammate who hadn’t had a full-time job in the league for more than four years. And despite a poor shooting night, Anthony spent most of the second half waving a towel after Langston Galloway brought out a bow-and-arrow celebration for every made 3-pointer, pumping his fist after Derrick Williams celebrated an alley-oop dunk by swinging on the rim, and quietly expressing his pleasure with the injured Arron Afflalo that he didn’t have to overexert himself on the first night of back-to-back games.

View photos Carmelo Anthony shoots against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. (Getty Images) More

Anthony is one of a few parts that remain from the team to which he decided to commit the final prime years of his NBA career two summers ago, with most of his friends banished from last season’s 17-win campaign that he has tried to left swipe from his memory. He has defiantly scoffed at suggestions that this team will only make minimal improvements this season – a scout from a Western Conference team projected that this roster would be fortunate to produce 20 wins – and encouraged Knicks fans not to be consumed by the negativity of the past two lottery teams.

“It comes a point in time when you have to believe in something,” Anthony told Yahoo Sports after the Knicks’ 122-97 win at BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Before he became a believer, Anthony had to first overcome being overwhelmed by his own doubts about himself. Holed up and basically immobile for six weeks after the first serious knee procedure of his career, Anthony was terrified by the implications it would have on his future. He’d watch games on television and have to turn away, worried that he would be a step slower upon his return from a repaired left patella tendon.

“Any time you’re kind of dealing with the knee, you start second-guessing things. Am I going to come back the same way? Am I going to have my bounce again? Am I going to be the same player? Will I be able to move like this? Will I still have my first step or my second jump? I started thinking that,” Anthony told Yahoo. “The more time you’re sitting around, you can’t move, you can’t do nothing, a lot of things go through your mind dealing with something like that.”

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Anthony went through a lengthy rehabilitation that extended through last week, a grueling physical process that required him to remove those mental barriers – “the hardest part,” he said – in order to make the necessary progress. Once he found comfort in his own recovery, Anthony then turned his attention to the Knicks’ attempts to rebound from the worst season in franchise history.

Knicks team president Phil Jackson had money to burn in free agency but couldn’t turn any of the big names available into takers. LaMarcus Aldridge wouldn’t meet with them. Greg Monroe wanted a team that was closer to winning over one that could’ve potentially helped him build a bigger brand in New York.

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