Carmelo Anthony said his left wrist and right thumb had improved greatly over the last few days. The last hurdle is his right ankle, which he sprained nearly three weeks ago. He will try running Tuesday morning, for the first time in nearly a week.

“I know I can run, but it’s just a matter of me being able to cut and push off that ankle,” Anthony said, adding, “Right now it’s just getting the pop back in my ankle and getting my explosion back.”

If he cannot play Tuesday, Anthony said he would aim for Thursday, when the Knicks play the Chicago Bulls — the first game of a back-to-back-to-back set.

Carmelo Anthony has come out in support of Mike D'Antoni as the Knicks continue to struggle. New York has lost nine of their last 10 games.

“We support Mike 100 percent,” Anthony said. “He’s here with us, we’re here with him and we’re going to roll with that.”

Anthony is currently out with a wrist, ankle and knee injury.

Baron Davis said he joined the Knicks in part to play for D’Antoni, “a coach that I love.”

The Knicks have taken Iman Shumpert out of his role as starting point guard in favor of Toney Douglas.

“Toney’s been playing the point guard better than Shump,’’ D’Antoni said before the game. “I think that today his best position will be the 2 or 3. He did a good job guarding LeBron James [Friday]. He’s learning the league. We’re learning where to play him. The 1 spot is not a natural one. It’s too much.’’

Mike D'Antoni believes some of Shumpert's strong play to start his rookie season has faded.

“Some of the brilliance of his athleticism has worn off a bit,’’ D’Antoni said. “For a rookie it’s a rude awakening to come in and play in so many games. His athleticism has come down a little bit because he has been banged up so it looks like physically he has struggled a bit.’’

Iman Shumpert is only 21 years old, but 20 games into his rookie season, he's already wearing down. Shumpert has had leg cramps, back issues and problems with both knees and one of his ankles.

"He gets banged up a little bit," Mike D'Antoni said. "I just want to make sure he can recover. For a rookie, it's a rude awakening to come in and you're playing so many games. His athleticism has come down a little bit just because he's so banged up.''

In the past six games, Shumpert has shot 18-for-58 and averaged 8.0 points and 3.3 assists.

According to a league source, the Sixers have inquired about Amar’e Stoudemire, though it was categorized as “due diligence.”

Nothing is said to be imminent or even in the early stages other than just talk, the source said.

Nevertheless, in past seasons the Sixers were reportedly discussing trade scenarios with the Phoenix Suns in order to acquire Stoudemire.

Carmelo Anthony will sit out for at least two more games to rest a sore ankle and a painful wrist.

“I think I was trying to be a superhero, trying to prove to my teammates that I can play hurt, trying to hide it,” Anthony said. “But at the end of the day, me doing that, it wasn’t really doing nothing but hurting the team.”

Anthony, who is shooting 39.4 percent from the floor, said he and the Knicks’ training staff discussed the possibility of an extended rest after a 91-81 loss in Cleveland on Wednesday.

“I was trying to hide it,” Anthony said. “Talking to Coach, kept telling him I was all right, telling my teammates I was all right. But at the end of the day, if you looking at the games over the last week, week and a half, I just wasn’t myself physically. It was taking a toll on me mentally. So I just decided, we decided together, to just shut it down right now for the next couple days and just see what happens after that.”

The Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks are pursuing free-agent forward Kenyon Martin, according to league sources.

Martin has spoken with executives from each of the clubs and is hoping to make his decision next week.

Martin signed a $2.6 million deal with Xinjiang during the lockout, but left the team in late December in hopes of returning to the NBA.

The Knicks made a commitment to combo guard Toney Douglas on Wednesday, exercising the final-year option on his rookie contract, preventing him from becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer.

“I took it as a positive,’’ said Douglas. “I guess they want me to be here.’’

Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony had a talk about how to coexist more productively, and they agreed neither has to take a back seat to the other. They both can excel.

“We have been talking, talked a little bit [Sunday] night, talked more this morning about how we both can dominate the game on both ends of the court,’’ Stoudemire said. “Carmelo’s a phenomenal player. He wants to win. It definitely will get better as a unit and as a team for sure.’’

Stoudemire told Anthony he has to be himself, and yesterday Anthony discounted the notion he has to be more deferential.

“We talked, and we’re good,’’ Anthony said. “I got to play basketball. I can’t worry about what somebody else is thinking about me. That was the other day. There was a lot going on. We had lost six games. Maybe I was over-thinking a bit. Today’s a new day.’’

Baron Davis said he believes he can eventually make the Knicks an “unstoppable’’ offensive team.

Practicing for the first time with the Knicks on Monday after rehabbing herniated disks, Davis was by all accounts rusty during an hourlong 5-on-5 scrimmage. But the former All-Star point guard was bold in assessing what his impact will eventually mean to Mike D’Antoni’s slumping offense.

“Once we hit our stride offensively and once our offense catches up with our defense, we’ll be unstoppable,’’ Davis said. “I’m confident this season we’ll turn it around and we’ll hit our stride.’’