Mike Woodson admitted to being worried about Carmelo Anthony’s knee injury and defended his decision to play him in the Nuggets’ 117-94 thrashing of the Knicks on Wednesday night.

In Anthony’s return to Denver, the Knicks star hobbled off the court n the third quarter with his lingering sore right knee after going 3-of-12 for nine points — 0-of-5 from 3-point range — and getting beaten continuously on defense. Anthony flew back to New York on Thursday to get the fluid from his knee drained.

“When a key guy goes down that’s a major piece to your puzzle, of course you are worried,” Woodson said in an interview with ESPN Radio. “There’s no doubt I am worried. I am worried about the team and how we are playing. Coming out of the Utah game, these past two games have been a nightmare.”

The Knicks have been routed in the first two games of their five-city West Coast trip. Anthony played in Denver and Golden State, but even before leaving the Nuggets game there were questions as to whether he would play again on the road trip. Still, Woodson defended his decision to let Anthony play against his former team.

“If your best players tells you he can play then he can play,” Woodson said. “I am going to listen to my players. He told me he could play and I accommodated him by playing him… I trust their judgment as well. I’ve been doing this a long time. Some guys can tell you anything and some guys are very sincere and I think Melo was very sincere.”

The loss for the Knicks, who play Portland on Thursday night, dropped their lead in the Atlantic Division to 1 ½ games over the Nets.

“There’s some concern, particularly because we are beat up,” said Woodson, who was unsure whether Tyson Chandler (knee contusion) would play against the Blazers.

“But again the season is not going to wait on us and other teams aren’t going to wait on us. It’s about us staying the course as a team. No matter who is in uniform we need guys to step up and play.”