Carmelo Anthony couldn’t have everything.
The ex-Knick got a rousing welcome during player introductions that included a stirring video montage, then the night of his Garden return went downhill from there, crashing and burning.
Anthony would find himself in a familiar spot — a loser at the Garden.
Booed almost every time he touched the ball, Anthony started fast then faded horribly, shut out in the second half and finishing with 12 points on 5-of-18 shooting as the Knicks took out the Thunder 111-96 to move to 16-13.
Anthony missed his last eight shots and was badly outplayed by “the lefty Melo” — as Michael Beasley dubbed himself in preseason.
Anthony called the night “bittersweet” and never expected the tribute during intros. He thanked the Knicks’ new regime of Steve Mills and Scott Perry for “the gesture” and adamantly declined to discuss sparring partner Phil Jackson.
“I was actually surprised,” Anthony said. “I was just waiting for my name to be called. It was bittersweet coming back here knowing the goal I had and what I wanted to accomplish and falling short.”
Anthony had played 47 minutes the night before in a three-overtime game in Philadelphia. When he was replaced with 1.4 seconds left, Anthony was roundly booed again.
“That was expected,” Anthony said. “They can’t cheer for me. I am on another team. I am glad we got the video montage out of the way and it was back to business.”
After a smooth start for Anthony, it was Beasley who took care of business.
Beasley, signed partly to replace Anthony’s firepower, struck for a season-high 30 points in by far his best game as a Knick, making 11-of-18 shots.
Beasley idolized Anthony growing up in the Washington, D.C., area.
“Melo was one of my favorite players growing up,” Beasley said. “Like his jab-step series was intriguing to me as a young guy. That’s what I meant.”
Coach Jeff Hornacek was most impressed with the delivery he made in the second half when he passed up an open look on the right wing and shoveled the ball to Doug McDermott in the corner for a wide-open 3. Hornacek said it showed Beasley’s unselfishness and intelligence.
The Knicks won despite not having their top two scorers — Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. Porzingis was ruled out a half-hour before the game because of his knee injury.
It was Anthony’s first game at the Garden as an opponent since December 2010 with the Nuggets, when he was outplayed by Danilo Gallinari in a loss.
“We wanted this one,” Anthony said. “I’m not going to lie.”
Anthony scored seven of OKC’s first 16 points then disappeared, failing to net a point after halftime and committing two offensive fouls in the fourth quarter as OKC fell to 14-15.
“We tried to put as much pressure on Melo as possible,” Hornacek said. “We kept him off the free throw line. Their back-to-back probably took a toll. He looked tired later on.”
Meanwhile, the Knicks were excited and improved as the game wore on. They made 14-of-23 3-pointers.
Courtney Lee scored 20 points as six Knicks hit for double figures. McDermott, picked up in the Melo deal, scored 13 points — 3-of-5 on 3-pointers.
“This game was kind of about [Melo],” McDermott said. “We did a great job of not letting it be a distraction.”
To his credit, Anthony was able to appreciate the Knicks’ good fortune.
“I like what I see,’’ Anthony said. “The tempo that they have, and I see those guys are having fun again. The fun was lost the last couple of seasons.’’
Before the game, Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek diplomatically said the Knicks could have had the same success had he stayed. He visited Anthony in August at his Manhattan gym twice to watch his celebrated pickup games and explained to him the new, non-triangle offense in case he was back.
“He’s one of the best scorers in this league,” Hornacek said.
As such, the Knicks gave Anthony his due. To help deaden any early negative reaction, the Knicks played a video montage on the scoreboard before Anthony was introduced — ending with the message: “Thank You 7 Melo.” The tribute noted him as the club’s seventh all-time leading scorer and showed a highlight of his 62-point game.
When his name was called out, the loud cheers overshadowed the smattering of jeers. Some fans stood up and applauded.
When he drained his first shot attempt 48 seconds in — a 3-pointer — a strong cheer rose up from the crowd.
But then it turned to boos and eventually missed shots for Anthony in a rough return.