Amar'e Stoudemire made things tougher for Boris Diaw just five days after the Knicks were embarrassed by the Charlotte Bobcats and their rotund forward. Consider it a lesson learned.

It was a small victory, but of greater concern for Mike D’Antoni and his team is that three weeks into the season the coach’s bread and butter — his offense, particularly in the fourth quarter — remains a work in progress.

“We aren’t a confident team,” D’Antoni said after the Knicks survived a late scare to defeat the Bobcats, 91-87, Monday night at the Garden. “It’s going to take a while to get to that and wins do help.