Don't You Know You're Gonna Shock the Monkey?

The Knicks won 113-86 tonight.

Yeah.

And I know it was against Detroit and that Detroit is horrible but with the way the Knicks have been playing the past nearly two weeks, they could have lost to a CYO team.

The highlights:

• The Knicks shot 60% from the field for the game. Yes, you read that correctly.
• Carmelo Anthony in his first game back scored 25 points on 9-14 shooting. Considering he was 40-126 in his previous six games before sitting out few due to injuries, tonight was a MAJOR improvement. (And no offense to Melo but I could do better than 40-126 and I haven’t played basketball since Junior High…in the 80′s.
• Landry Fields was also shooting out of his mind tonight, finishing 7-10 from the field – 4-6 from behind the arc – for a total of 18 points.
• Tyson Chandler also had a strong shooting night – 5-6 from the floor and  7-10 from the line – for 17 points.
• Amar’e Stoudemire tweaked his ankle during warmups before the second half. He played in the third quarter and seemed okay. He finished with 15 points.

Up next for the Knicks is a pretty brutal stretch of basketball. Three games in three nights. They play Chicago at home on Thursday, then travel to Boston to play the Celtics on Friday and return home to play the New Jersey Nets on Saturday.

Yikes.

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Oh right, the Knicks didn’t actually play last night…

Instead, they play tonight against Detroit with Carmelo Anthony’s status still up in the air – he’s a game time decision.

The last time these two teams played, the Knicks won easily. Working in the Knicks’ favor is the fact that they’ve won five out of their last six games against Detroit.

Of course, they’re the Knicks so who knows what kind of game we’ll get out of them. Hopefully their recent “dominance” against the Pistons and the fact that Detroit is an abysmal 4-18 on the season will be in New York’s favor.

Or not.

Oh and the quote of the day goes to Amar’e Stoudemire who said, “Losing is definitely not something that we set out to do, it was a whole different game plan for us this season.”

Well I would hope not! (Setting out to lose) With the lockout shortened season, the Knicks better turn their losing ways into winning ways soon or this season will be viewed as a colossal failure and I will have to endure hearing my father bitching and moaning about the Carmelo Anthony trade for years to come…

There was plenty to smile about for 'Melo and Mike Bibby Saturday night in Detroit. (AP)

How’s this for things you haven’t seen often this year: The Knicks played a complete game wire-to-wire!

That’s right boys and girls, New York actually did NOT play down to their opponent and easily dispatched of the once-mighty Detroit Pistons at The Palace tonight, 103-80. It’s their second win in a row and capped off the second of many back-to-back sets. It also gives them some momentum as they head back to Madison Square Garden for a rematch with the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday (you may remember Stacey’s EPIC one-word game recap from this past Wednesday).

Thanks to the dispute between MSG Network and Time Warner Cable (get your s#!t together, guys) I was forced yet again to watch a live stream of the game. It didn’t make it any less enjoyable tonight, however, as there was plenty to like about the Knicks’ effort. For the first time this season, Amar’e Stoudemire seemed intent on scoring in the paint as opposed to settling for 20-foot jumpers. It worked for him as he shot 8-for-15 from the field, including 6-for-8 from within five feet of the rim. I like seeing STAT taking those high-percentage shots to get him going, which will in turn enhance his mid-range shot.

Another thing I liked was that Mike D’Antoni grew a pair and gave Iman Shumpert the start at point guard over Toney Douglas. Shump added 11 points and continued his fearless play and infectious hustle; Douglas only played 5:43 in the first half before being pulled seemingly due to his bothersome shoulder. Playing in his place for the second half, Mike Bibby (!!!!!) stepped in and added 16 points and made all four of his 3-point attempts. Personally I think he’s wearing his 2002 Sacramento Kings jersey underneath his current jersey; his second straight solid showing helped him put up a +/- of 26 … or the same as Carmelo Anthony. This from a guy who was destined for Roger Mason status as recently as Wednesday. Un-freakin’-believable.

And I have to shout out waiver-wire signing Jeremy Lin scoring his first basket in a Knicks uniform. It might be his last, though, if the report about a potential Keith Bogans signing turns out to be true.