>Bulls 103, Knicks 90

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Derrick Rose scored 26 points and Luol Deng added 23 and 10 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls used a big second half to defeat the host New York Knicks, 103-90, on Tuesday.

Carlos Boozer chipped in 14 points and a season-high 22 boards and Joakim Noah scored 13 points for the Bulls (61-20), who have already clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference and still have a shot at the best record in the NBA.

Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points for the Knicks, who are locked into the No. 6 spot in the East and will open the playoffs this weekend at the Boston Celtics.

New York held a 55-52 edge at the half but watched that lead quickly disappear when Chicago ripped off a 26-2 run over the first seven minutes of the third quarter. The Knicks recovered by the end of the period, cutting it to 84-73 heading into the final period.

They got as close as 91-84 early in the fourth quarter before Rose drained a 3-pointer to help the Bulls pull away again.

Bill Walker added 18 points for New York, which played without All-Star forward Amar’e Stoudemire for the fourth straight game. Stoudemire is expected to be ready for the playoffs.

>Knicks try to solve puzzle

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Exactly one month ago, Carmelo Anthony emerged from a tunnel at Madison Square Garden for his first game as a Knick waving to a raucous crowd that clearly believed happy days were here again. Not nine losses in his first 16 games, six of them in seven games to teams with losing records.

Not fourth-quarter meltdowns like the nine-point lead the Knicks blew in the final 7:26 Monday against Boston or the 11-point lead with 11 1/2 minutes left they squandered Friday in Detroit — to name just two.

Thus, happy days have become panicked days, the great expectations of ’Melo’s arrival already given way to some fear that the Knicks erred in getting him — even loathing from some fans that he might become Stephon Marbury II.

And now, if the Knicks don’t beat Dwight Howard and the Magic tonight at the Garden, their record falls below .500 for the first time since Nov. 27 (at 8-9).

Yet, in-house, the Knicks try to keep the atmosphere as mellow as possible with 12 regular-season games left to right the ship before their presumed trip to the playoffs (magic number: seven).

“I expected that we wouldn’t be collectively together after that trade,” team president Donnie Walsh said Tuesday. “I also looked at the schedule in the month of March and saw if we’re trying to find ourselves, it [was] going to be difficult.”

March features 18 games (including Monday’s rematch against the Magic, the make-up of the Nov. 2 asbestos-scare postponement), including six back-to-back sets — more than half the 11 back-to-backs the Lakers play all season.

Thus with what D’Antoni calls “no practice time,” Anthony said, “Right now, we’re just figuring it out on the go.

“As long as we figure it out by the time the playoffs come, I’m not really too concerned about what’s going on right now and how it’s going on,” ’Melo said.

Easy to say, hard to watch — especially when the Knicks’ recent problems have occurred on the side of the ball D’Antoni said didn’t worry him a month ago.

Offensively, despite two All-Star “closers” in Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, the Knicks, particularly late in games, look at times as if they’re running around aimlessly.

Or standing.

“We’re still trying to get a grip on it,” Stoudemire said.

“Remember, we started the year off this season with a bunch of new guys. We started off 3-8. Then, once we figured out the right floor spacing and the ball movement, how to space the floor and run the court, we went on a tear.”

A 13-1, season-turning tear.

“Offensively, it takes time to get everything clicking,” Anthony said. “I’m not too concerned about that. Offense is the easy part.”

Not lately, a month after he arrived in the city where he wanted to play.

Still, D’Antoni said one month isn’t what the trade was all about.

“We did the trade for the future of the franchise,” he said. “We think it’s going to work out, it’s going to be great. …

“It’s just a matter of getting there sooner than later.”

>Carmelo and Amar’e take Manhattan

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Last month, a blockbuster trade landed Denver Nuggets superstar Carmelo Anthony with the New York Knicks, sparking a media frenzy and hopes for the team’s first NBA championship since 1973. The renewed optimism for Gotham hoops comes as Melo joins former Phoenix Suns sensation Amar’e Stoudemire, who this season inked a five-year deal worth nearly $100 million in the Knicks’ aggressive push for a title — and relevancy.

“The Knicks are a classic franchise, so it’s nice to see them having a moment,” says GQ senior editor Will Welch.

Off the hardwood, both athletes are known as much for their style swagger as they are for their stutter step.

Stoudemire — who threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Yankees-Tampa Bay game in September — has cemented his sartorial standing by wrangling Anna Wintour to Madison Square Garden for a Knicks game.

Meanwhile, Anthony has been a tabloid fixture since Stoudemire threw a star-studded dinner at the West Village’s Spotted Pig to welcome his newest teammate and longtime friend.

The dapper dandies certainly know how to make a Big Apple entrance — pocket square and all. “Amar’e feels like an old soul, in a way,” says Welch.

“He’s got the whole prep thing going on. You see Amar’e in bow ties, chunky-framed glasses and cardigans.”

In 2009, the Brooklyn-born, Baltimore-raised Anthony began working with celebrity stylist Khalilah Williams-Webb, who refined his aesthetic.

Much to her delight, he shaved his trademark braids without nagging.

“My first question for him was, ‘Are you going to shave your braids?’ And he said no. [But] I went to Denver one day, and they were gone. I was so excited,” says Williams-Webb, who recently picked up varsity letterman jackets and crew-neck sweatshirts for the newly minted Knick.

She put him in custom suits with pops of color and tossed the baggy jackets out with his untucked, oversize shirts.

Stoudemire and Anthony, who stand at 6-foot-10 and 6-foot-8, respectively, both have pulled off style coups for men of their height.

The stars — who entered the NBA while in their teens — are devotees of LA-based tailor Waraire Boswell. At 6-foot-7, Boswell is an expert at fitting a taller, more athletic frame.

“Despite all of the money at their disposal, they can’t just walk into Barneys and Bergdorf and buy off the rack,” says Welch. “They have to have their stuff made for them.”

Knicks fans, however, love them best in blue and orange mesh.

Stoudemire, who only started playing organized ball at 14, was drafted into the NBA right out of high school, while Anthony played a year at Syracuse, won a national championship and entered the pros with just one year of college under his belt.

“Both of them have come really close to an NBA championship, but fell short,” says Robert Tuchman, author of “The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live.”

“Being in New York should change that.”

Thus far, the team is trying to jell, and has been streaky at best.

But the new additions have already captured the hearts of basketball and fashion fans alike.

Here’s how they stack up against each other in the personal arena . . .

Not-so-humble abodes

* Stoudemire: The swinging bachelor is in the penthouse of 99 Jane St. that opened in November after the previous tenant, Goldman Sachs banker Richard Kimball Jr., angered neighbors with his hard-partying ways. The $37,500-a-month pad has 4,500 square feet inside and another 4,500 square feet of outdoor space to entertain hopeful gal pals.

* Anthony: The recent arrival hasn’t yet committed to an apartment, but The Post has reported that he’s mulling two locations in SoHo, including the same Mercer Street building where Jon Bon Jovi lives (also the place where Mark Madoff committed suicide in December). He’s reportedly considering the upscale Soho Mews on West Broadway as well.

Marital status

* Stoudemire: “Amar’e is a lot more private with his private life,” says sports author Robert Tuchman. The dapper dandy was linked to Kanye’s ex, Amber Rose, in December, but the pair denied a romantic relationship.

* Anthony: Carmelo Anthony wed MTV personality and longtime girlfriend La La Vazquez at a star-studded ceremony at Cirpriani 42nd Street in July. Amar’e, Kim Kardashian, LeBron James and Spike Lee watched as Melo wed Vazquez, 31, in a custom navy Waraire Boswell tuxedo.

Mass appeal

Stoudemire: The Florida native has made no secret of his design aspirations, and plans to collaborate with Rachel Roy on men’s and women’s collections, to be rolled out in the fall. The pair was spotted discussing details at The Lion in December.

Anthony: While his teammate rubs shoulders with the fashion pack, Melo’s hanging with the VH1 film crew chronicling his and wife La La’s move from Denver to the Big Apple, tentatively called “La La’s Full Court Life.” It’s a follow-up to the network’s “La La’s Full Court Wedding.”

Spectacles

* Stoudemire: He rocks rec specs while posting up on opponents, but in his off-time, Stoudemire gets his cache of nerd-chic glasses from SoHo’s Silver Lining. From chunky, square Arthur Miller styles to the rounded Urkel variety, his frames are an integral part of Stoudemire’s playful, preppy aesthetic.

* Anthony: “He has to have his shades,” says celebrity stylist Khalilah Williams-Webb, who also plucks aviator sunglasses from Silver Lining’s vintage collection. “He loves Silver Lining because they have frames that he knows no one else will have,” she adds.

Vogue love

* Stoudemire: Editrix Anna Wintour is a famous fan of athletes such as Roger Federer and LeBron James; Stoudemire can now join the pantheon. Stoudemire — whom Wintour personally invited to last fall’s Fashion Night Out — has sat front-row with her at a Tommy Hilfiger show and appears in April’s issue, playing a hilarious game of one-on-one with the magazine’s resident dandy, Hamish Bowles.

* Anthony: He’s yet to land a coveted editorial spread, but his stylist hopes New York helps cultivate his fashion profile. “It’s the fashion capital. There are so many things to see here, and the streets are an inspiration,” says Williams-Webb. “I think it will be easier to convince him to try new things.

Style & sensibility

* Stoudemire: The slim power forward, who works with Rachel Johnson, LeBron James’ stylist, favors custom suits by Gucci and Waraire Boswell. “He’s really up on what’s going on right now,” says Welch. “He looks great in a tux, which is really hard when you’re 6-foot-10. He takes risks and pulls them off.” Whether he’s wearing a casual leather jacket and jeans or a bow tie and charcoal pinstripe suit, the fashion phenom hardly makes a style mistep, Welch says. “Amar’e tends to nail it,” he says.

* Anthony: When Melo shed his braids and baggy togs, adopting a cleaner silhouette, he began his ascent into the league’s style elite. “He’s coming into his own and figuring out who he is off the court,” says Welch. “He’s isn’t as consistent as Amar’e. He looks best when he keeps it simple.” He committed some flagrant fouls over the NBA All-Star Weekend when he showed up at one event in a flamboyant plaid suit and at another in a head-to-toe mustard-color ensemble. But Welch insists his best accessory is God-given. “He has an incredible smile,” he says.

>Defending champion Lakers send Spurs message

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The Los Angeles Lakers might not catch the NBA’s winningest team for the No. 1 seed in time for the playoffs, but they handed the San Antonio Spurs a blunt reminder that the Western Conference is still theirs to surrender, beating San Antonio, 99-83, in a blowout Sunday. 

 It was the seventh straight victory for the Lakers. Coach Phil Jackson concedes that San Antonio’s 61/2-game lead in the West might be too big to overcome with 18 games left. But the Lakers still made a few marks.

One is emphatically ending San Antonio’s franchise-record home winning streak at 22 games. Another is beating the Spurs for the first time in three tries, including last month’s stunning loss in Los Angeles when Antonio McDyess tipped in the winner as time expired

Chicago 87, (at) Miami 86: Derrick Rose scored 27 points, Luol Deng capped an 18-point effort with two free throws that put Chicago ahead for good. It was the fourth time since Feb. 24 where Miami held a double-digit lead and ultimately lost.

(At) Oklahoma City 122, Phoenix 118 (OT): Russell Westbrook had 32 points and 11 assists, James Harden matched his career high with 26 points as Oklahoma City overcame an off night from scoring leader Kevin Durant (18 points, 3-for-14).

New York 92, (at) Atlanta 79: Amare Stoudemire scored 26 points and Landry Fields added 15 as New York won easily. Carmelo Anthony, who was poked in the eye in the first quarter and later hit in the head in the first half, finished with 14 points, his lowest total since New York acquired him in a Feb. 22 trade.

(At) Philadelphia 125, Golden State 117 (OT): Andre Iguodala had his second straight triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to carry the 76ers.

New Orleans 96, (at) Cleveland 81: David West scored 23 points, and Chris Paul had 13 points and 11 assists in 26 minutes before being carried out on a stretcher after hitting his head. Paul was chasing a loose ball when he hit his forehead on Ramon Sessions’ right shoulder and immediately fell to the court.

Memphis 104, (at) Dallas 103: Zach Randolph made a high-arching 17-footer with 0.3 seconds left, capping a comeback from 18 points.