Carmelo Anthony talks about retiring a Knick, but should instead stay focused on ...

Knicks put forth good effort in Chicago, despite that Derrick Rose gets better of them in final seconds of his return to United Center. Nam Y. Huh/AP

CHICAGO - One superstar made his last shot of the night, one missed and the outcome left the Knicks disappointed, yet thinking this could be the start of something good.

We'll see because there are 80 games left, an eternity by any measure. But it's easy to see why the Knicks walked out of the United Center singing their own praises after suffering an 82-81 loss on Halloween night to the Bulls.

They showed they might be a better defensive team anyone thought, including their own coach, Mike Woodson. Tyson Chandler, the key to their back line, is back to giving them the kind of presence he showed when he won the Defensive Player of the Year award two seasons ago. Even without J.R. Smith,continuing his five-game suspension for his pot bust, they still went toe-to-toe with a good Chicago team for the whole night, coming up short only at the very end when Carmelo Anthony couldn't match Derrick Rose for the highlight reels.

'I love our effort as a team,' Anthony said. 'We left it all out there on the court.'

There was much to like, indeed. But of course, Melo had to be involved in a little controversy because, well, that's how he rolls.

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When Anthony had a sit-down beforehand with TNT, his future naturally became Topic A. He talked about retiring as a Knick.

First time he's done that. So he's gone from wanting to opt out of his contract this summer and have his talents 'evaluated' by coaches, GMs and owners - starting with the Buss family that owns the Lakers - and anyone else who wants to make a run at a premier scorer. And now we have the latest, Anthony saying he's all-in as a Knick.

Who's believing that?

It would be a classy move on his part if he stopped doing interviews about his future and for once took LeBron James' approach. Say it's all about the job at hand, it's all about this season and nothing else matters. End of discussion until July 1.

Afterward, when asked about being a Knick for life, Anthony addressed what has already become a tired subject. Well kind of, at first begging off and then saying, 'I said what I said. I believe that. That's my goal. That's what I want to do. But I don't want talk about it.'

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Then don't. Just go out and do what you claim you wanted to do when you forced the Nuggets to trade you to the Knicks.

Anthony talks a big game about bringing a title to New York. We haven't seen that yet, and chances are it isn't happening this season. But can he at least make his entire focus this season and not his future?

But you can't trust him to do that, to put the Knicks first, because he's a me-first guy. Not a team-first guy. So you can expect more national interviews over the next seven months, more bombshells, more of these revelations that make Anthony tick. He thinks it makes him relevant, keeps him trending, when hitting a last-second shot against the Bulls would go a whole lot further.

'I got the look I wanted,' he said.

Didn't make it. But there will more chances to close out a big game. And while everybody has counted the Knicks out of the title hunt, except for Jim Dolan, it's a night like Thursday that give Knicks fans hope, and might just catch the attention of teams such as Miami, Indiana and Brooklyn.

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The Knicks did create an impression on the Bulls after holding the hosts to 11 points in the fourth quarter, with Rose's baseline floater over Chandler with 5.7 seconds left only their second hoop of the quarter.

'You have to give them credit,' said the Bulls' Carlos Boozer. 'They do a good job of scouting us and getting prepared for us.'

It's not secret how the Bulls live and die. Their life blood is Rose's ability to drive the lane and either score himself or get the ball to an open teammate.

For 47 minutes and change, the Knicks collapsed on his forays and he couldn't find the basket.

It wasn't all them, though. This was only Rose's second game back from knee surgery and until he managed to seal the Bulls' inaugural win, he looked like someone who had spent nearly 18 months on the sidelines.

'I think he's still trying to find his rhythm,' Anthony said. 'So it's going to take some time to get that rhythm back and going again.'

Thursday night was a start for Rose. Maybe for these Knicks, too.

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