Melo stars in 2nd, not an All-Star yet

A HECKLING Knicks fan prompted Carmelo Anthony to unleash an All-Star performance in the second quarter Thursday night — the type of scoring outburst seen from few in NBA history.

But just like his bid for the All-Star starting lineup, Anthony’s offense fizzled out and came up short in yet another crushing Knicks loss.

On the same day he learned he won’t be starting the All-Star game for the first time in eight years, Anthony broke the franchise record for points in a quarter with a 25-point barrage in the second. He mustered just seven points in the second half, though, and missed a potential go-ahead jumper with less than 20 seconds remaining in the Knicks’ 113-110 loss to the Wizards at the Garden.

“I got a little tired. Legs got tired, heavy,” Anthony said. “My shoulder was bothering me a little bit in the second half. But early, I was just trying to stay locked in.”

Not only did Anthony miss out on the Eastern Conference starting lineup Thursday — he wasn’t even close.

The 32-year-old star forward finished eighth among frontcourt players in voting. The top-3 players start. This year for the East, it’s the Cavs’ LeBron James, the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bulls’ Jimmy Butler.

The league debuted a new voting format this season that divided the weighting equally among fans, players and media. Previously, fans had complete control over the All-Star starting lineup.

Anthony finished sixth among fans, sixth among players and did not receive a single vote from the media. He noticed. “I wasn’t expecting you guys to vote me in. Not at all,” Anthony said to a group of reporters after Thursday’s loss. “I’ve seen the results. … Of course I would love to represent New York in the All-Star game. But I wasn’t depending on you guys to vote me in to be honest.”

Anthony still has a shot to reach the All-Star game as a reserve based on the coaches’ vote.

“If I have the honor to do that, I’ll accept that with open arms,” he said. “But we’ll see what happens.”

Anthony scored just two points in the first quarter Thursday but turned it on in dramatic fashion in the second, pouring in 16 straight over a five-minute span.

Anthony said a fan was jawing at him from the stands. After he hit his first three-pointer at the 10:55 mark of the quarter, Anthony yelled back into the crowd as he did his trademark threeto-the-head routine.

“He was a Knicks fan,” Anthony said. “I don’t think he was a Melo fan, though. … He was just telling me to wake up and do my job and be a professional.”

Well, the fan got what he was asking for.

“It’s kind of hard to explain those moments,” Anthony said of the second-quarter onslaught. “I think the people that’s had those type of moments before understand kind of what it’s like to be in a groove like that, what it’s like to have a feeling like that. It’s really hard to explain or put that into words.”

Ultimately, the spectacle was nothing more than a footnote on the Knicks’ 12th loss in their past 15 games.

“It’s just the tale of the tape at this point,” Anthony said.