NEW YORK — New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points in his return to the lineup Sunday night in an 86-79 loss to the Miami Heat.

Anthony had missed the Knicks’ past two games due to painful back spasms.

The spasms first surfaced late in the first half of the Knicks’ loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday night.

Anthony said the pain was so severe that he couldn’t speak to his teammates late Monday night. Anthony was listed as doubtful for tonight’s game earlier Sunday, but he participated in the Knicks’ morning shootaround, clearing the way for him to play Sunday night against Miami.

Fisher hinted that Anthony would be at less than 100 percent health when he took the floor against Miami.

“I don’t think he would put himself in danger if he was still in spasm — not saying he’s totally comfortable, either. I’m sure there’s still some discomfort,” the Knicks coach said.

“I think we have to make sure that it’s the right thing to do long term, and I think he’s comfortable with that as long as our medical staff is comfortable with it. I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t be out there.”

Anthony started at small forward alongside Jose Calderon and Iman Shumpert in the backcourt, Quincy Acy at power forward and Samuel Dalembert at center. He played a team-high 41 minutes and collected eight rebounds and two assists to complement his game-high 31 points.

The Knicks (4-13) lost two straight without Anthony and have now dropped 11 of their past 13 games.