Thunder 95, Knicks 94 — Carmelo Anthony sits

The Oklahoma City Thunder finally silenced the Knicks’ streaky shooter in the fourth, hanging on to beat New York 95-94 on Thursday night when Smith missed a turnaround jumper just before the buzzer.

Russell Westbrook struggled over the final three quarters but finished with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, plus provided tough defense on Smith’s last shot in the Thunder’s first trip to New York since Dec.

Kevin Martin had 16 points as Oklahoma City posted its third straight win, fighting off a spirited effort by a Knicks team missing Anthony.

Smith missed a 3-pointer with 33 seconds left but the Knicks had a final chance after Durant was off on a jumper with about 9 seconds to go.

Smith got the ball in about the same spot where he hit a winning jumper against Phoenix earlier this season, but his shot was long as the Knicks had their two game-winning streak snapped.

Raymond Felton and Stoudemire each had 16 points for the Knicks, who were playing their fourth game in five nights against the rested and more athletic Thunder.

Anthony’s injury prevented a matchup between the NBA’s top two scorers, his 28.2 points per game slightly behind the 28.6 Durant came in averaging as he tries to lead the league for the fourth straight season.

“You missed it last year with the shortened season,” said Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks, who played for the Knicks in the 1996-97 season.

The Thunder scored 16 straight points, going ahead by 10 en route to a 35-26 lead behind 15 first-quarter points from Westbrook.