If you can’t beat the Pelicans at home with their best player, Anthony Davis, missing most of the game, who can you beat?
Right now, nobody.
The Knicks wasted a breakout night by rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. and played sloppy and tense ball down the stretch, with turnovers, missed 3-pointers and defensive breakdowns, as the Pelicans stole a 103-99 victory at the Garden.
It was the Knicks’ ninth straight loss and their seventh straight defeat at the Garden. Coach Mike Woodson, who isn’t pressing the right buttons late in games, admitted his group is frazzled and playing tight in pressurized moments.
The Knicks fell to a stunning 3-13 (tied for worst in the Eastern Conference with the Bucks) and next play Thursday in Brooklyn, where a bad loss would probably put Woodson in hot water despite owner James Dolan’s recent vote of confidence.
“I think coming down the stretch, we played on our heels like this 0-8 streak was staring us in the face instead of relaxing and playing,’’ Woodson said.
Hardaway scored a career-high 21 points, banging in 5 of 8 3-pointers, but the defense let up in the fourth quarter.
Carmelo Anthony, coming off his last-second airball in Denver, had another quiet fourth quarter. He finished with 23 points, but missed key shots late, including an in-and-out 3 with 18.9 seconds left and the Knicks down 3. Anthony was 2 for 6 for 5 points in the last period, continuing to lose his status as one of game’s elite closers.
“We can’t seem to get it together or figure it out,’’ Anthony said. “We’re playing to lose instead of to win.’’
Anthony had cut the Pelicans’ lead to three with a 3-pointer with 54.9 seconds left. The Knicks regained the ball and had a chance to tie. Hardaway finally missed a 3-pointer, but Raymond Felton got the offensive rebound and passed the ball to Anthony. His 3-pointer was halfway down before coming out with 18.9 seconds left, making him 1 for his 16 last on potential game-winning or game-tying shots in the final 30 seconds.
“It felt good, it went in and out,’’ Anthony said. “I thought it was good and going in.”
Hardaway’s emergence came after Iman Shumpert was benched in the fourth quarter. Shumpert was spotted during a third-quarter timeout yelling at Anthony for nearly 20 seconds. Anthony ignored him.
After the game, Shumpert said: “We had a miscommunication. Just a little frustrated about it.’’
Anthony declined comment on the Shumpert incident, but railed about the defensive breakdowns in the fourth. The Knicks were miserable in making their switches and being in the right spots.
“Most of the game we felt pretty confident in what we were doing on both ends of the court,’’ Anthony said. “At the end of the game, we couldn’t put any stops together. We couldn’t put shots down when it counted. We can’t seem to figure it out defensively. A lot of switching and miscommunication on the court. We got to get better at that as far as talking to another.’’
Davis left the game with a fractured left hand late in the first quarter, but Ryan Anderson picked up the slack and burned the Knicks with 31 points, making 7 of 11 3-pointers.
“We are not taking pride in guarding,’’ Woodson said.
The Knicks are now 0-5 in their new orange uniforms that Dolan may want to shelve — if not his head coach.
The game became a scramble at the end. During a 10-0 run midway through the fourth quarter by New Orleans, the Knicks were haunted by late turnovers on three straight possessions. Felton tried feeding J.R. Smith (12 points, three turnovers) at the perimeter, but it was broken up by Tyreke Evans, who got fouled on the fast break. After the free throws, New Orleans led 98-93 with 2:46 left.
“It’s unbelievable,’’ Smith said.
Added Felton: “We lost and it’s killing me right now, but we’re playing better basketball. It’s not going our way in a lot of ways.’’
The defensive breakdowns were everywhere late. Andrea Bargnani lost his man on the pick and roll as Evans received a lob in the lane and scored uncontested, giving the Pelicans a 96-93 lead with 2:45 left.
Bargnani finished with 17 points and six blocks but had too many defensive lapses.
“We have to get together and do something and figure it out as a team,’’ Anthony said. “I don’t know what we have to do to come together a group, sit in here for hours and talk but we got to do something.’’