Derek Fisher’s New York Knicks squad had seen its share of close, heartbreaking losses in recent weeks, so after seeing his team close out a victory Saturday, Coach Fish was content with the win, even though the final score was closer than expected.

New York led the Philadelphia 76ers by as many as 21 but say its lead diminish to single digits late in the fourth before closing out the 91-83 win. But afterward, as Fish opined, the close win still counts as a win for a team that needed one.

“We just had to keep playing, and find a way to win,” Derek said. “When we look back on this season, we won’t overanalyze which game we won by how many, it will just be a win, so we’ll take it.”

After two straight losses on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves, a tilt against the winless Sixers was just what the doctor ordered for the ailing Knicks.

Star forward Carmelo Anthony paced N.Y. with 25 points, along with seven rebounds and two assists. The Knicks have leaned on Melo in games that they’ve struggled, but a double-double from Amar’e Stoudemire, along with the Knicks debut for Jose Calderon helped to guide Fish’s Knicks to a much-needed win. Afterward, Derek talked about the dynamic of facing the young Philly squad that is yet to reach the win column.

“It’s a tough game because you’re playing against a team that hasn’t won a game, but they obviously have some individual and collective pride about who they are,” Fish said. “(The 76ers) play behind a lot, and so there isn’t particular score that they’re worried about in terms of, ‘this is too much.’ They have a young team that is going to play hard, and play with energy no matter what the situation is.”

Calderon, who joined the Knicks this summer in the trade that sent Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to the Dallas Mavericks, missed the first 13 games of the season after suffering a strained calf before the season opener.

He jumped right into the starting lineup and tallied three points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals in 21 minutes on the floor. Coach Fish limited Calderon to just three quarters of play, and revealed after the game that he’ll continue to ease his point guard back into action over the coming weeks.

“Jose was good tonight,” he said. “It looked like he was able to find some comfort level. You can tell he was easing his way into really being aggressive out there, but those were 21 good minutes.”

Calderon took and missed the first shot of the game, but he went on to take and make his second just two minutes later: a three off a feed from Quincy Acy. Meanwhile, Anthony was hot from the start, tallying a game-high nine points in the first, including a triple from the right wing. New York buried the Sixers under a 12-point cushion as the visitors shot just 28.6 percent in the first half at Madison Square Garden.

Stoudemire set the tone offensively for the team in second quarter after J.R. Smith found his big man camping out underneath the rim. Smith’s quick circle into the inside caused Stoudemire’s man to abandon him, which left the big man wide open for an easy dunk. The Knicks lead 29-14 with 11 minutes remaining in the half.

Amar’e finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds in just shy of 20 minutes off the bench, earning a hand from Fish after the game.

“I think he understands where his opportunities are coming from within the system,” Derek said of Stoudemire. “He’s taking advantage of those, he’s being aggressive, he’s rebounding the ball well a lot of nights. He’s just doing whatever he can do to help the team and that says a lot about his character and the guy he’s trying to be. But I think the real credit goes to his commitment to keeping his body at the level where he can go out and perform the way he is.”

Later in the second, Calderon showed a bit of rust after he bounced an errant pass to Anthony, which was intercepted by rookie Nerlens Noel. However, Calderon got the rare chance to mulligan his errant pass, after Noel basically gave the ball right back to the Spanish guard. Calderon found Anthony again, and Anthony drained the wide-open three, bringing the score to 40-29 with 5:20 remaining in the quarter.

Still, the Sixers were able to use some aggressive play and 9-of-13 shooting from the free-throw line to cut the lead to just seven at the half.

Iman Shumpert has been on a tear for New York in the past few games, and made his mark once again in the team’s fourth win of the season. In the third quarter, Shump made a highlight reel play where he shook off a defender with a nice dribble behind the back, before he no-looked a pass to an open Quincy Acy, who threw the ball down with authority. The Knicks extended their second-half lead to 13.

That and strong defensive pressure that forced five Philly turnovers and 6-of-18 shooting in the third sent New York to the final frame with a 71-54 lead.

With that big advantage, the Knicks became a little lax in the fourth, turning the ball over seven times, which led to some easy points for the opposition. The late slip-ups prompted Coach Fish to reveal that his team is still trying to figure out how to keep up its defensive tenacity for a full 48 minutes.

“Our defense was OK,” Derek said. “They didn’t score a lot of points but the pace was a little slower tonight. I still think we’re finding out how to find that balance, in terms of putting together four good solid defensive quarters.”

Down 89-80, the Philly D started to press the Knickerbockers, in hopes of making a comeback with 32 seconds on the clock. Pablo Prigioni wanted nothing to do with it, and sailed a beautiful pass down court to a lonely Stoudemire, who proceeded to drive home the dagger with one last two-handed slam. The Knicks scored their final points of the night on that stuff, and went on to win 91-83.

NEXT UP

After spending the weekend at home, Fish and his Knicks (4-10) will travel West for a three-game Western Conference set, starting Monday against the Houston Rockets (10-3).

Behind Dwight Howard and James Harden, the Rockets have proven to be one of the NBA’s top teams in the early going, and they’ll present a major challenge for Derek and his men. The Knicks went 0-2 a season ago against the Rockets, while Fish’s Oklahoma City Thunder went 3-1 against the Houston squad.

After Monday’s tilt, the Knicks will take on another hot West team, the Dallas Mavericks, Wednesday. Then they’ll finish up the road stand Friday against Derek’s former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Monday night’s tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST.

RELATED ARTICLES

• 76ers at Knicks: Game Book (NBA.com, Nov. 22, 2014)
• Stoudemire feels like ‘everything is back’ (NY Post, Nov. 23, 2014
• Winless 76ers prove to be perfect tonic for Knicks (NY Post, Nov. 22, 2014)
• Calderon returns as Knicks defeat winless 76ers (NY Daily News, Nov. 22, 2014)
• Knicks win 93-81, drop Sixers to 0-13 (AP, Nov. 22, 2014)
• One Game in, Calderon has more wins than 76ers (NY Times, Nov. 22, 2014)
• Melo: Jose’s High IQ will help Knicks (ESPN NY, Nov. 23, 2014)