Somewhere, Isiah Thomas must be smiling.
David Lee had modest goals as he sat glumly on the bench in the fourth quarter, watching the Knicks’ worst Garden loss in their history.
“I was just hoping they wouldn’t score a couple more points in a row and we’d be down 60,” Lee said.
It never got that bad, but it got close, as the Knicks disgraced themselves yesterday afternoon. They lost by 50 points in a disgusting 128-78 rout against the Mavericks, even though Dallas played without Jason Kidd and starter Erick Dampier.
It was the Knicks’ largest margin of defeat at the Garden in history, topping the 43-point loss to Charlotte on MLK Day in 2002. It’s the second-worst Knicks loss ever, with their 62-point defeat in Syracuse in 1960 still safe.
When Dallas’ James Singleton soared for a vicious put-back slam with 3:07 left, the Mavericks got up 53 points, 122-69, and the Syracuse record looked to be in jeopardy.
The Knicks played so despicably, the Mavs hardly needed Kidd, who was back in Dallas because of “family reasons,” according to owner Mark Cuban.
According to a source, Kidd went home to be with a girlfriend who was giving birth.
But it was coach Mike D’Antoni who looked like he was in labor on the bench — with a pained expression in the second half.
“It’s hard to comment on this game, it was so bad — bad in every area,” D’Antoni said.
The Knicks did the Jets fans in the audience a favor, allowing them to leave late in the third quarter when the club was already behind by 41 points.
The Knicks (17-26) have lost six of eight games and may have been full of themselves for competing with the Lakers Friday. The bored fans started chanting “Let’s Go Jets” early in the fourth and more than half began filing out to catch kick-off.
Knicks president Donnie Walsh is conducting meetings with his scouts all week, partly to discuss strategy entering Feb. 19’s trading deadline. They can use a boost, specifically at point guard.
The Mavericks, a mediocre-shooting 3-point shooting team playing the least game of a five-game trip, made 12 of 22 treys and shot 58 percent overall. The sickly Knicks were 4 of 25 from the 3-point line and shot 33.7 percent.
Seven Mavericks hit double figures, led by Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry each scoring 20 points.
Asked if the Knicks showed effort, D’Antoni cracked: “I hope not because if it was there, we’re in trouble.”
Maybe they are in trouble anyway. Chris Duhon (2 of 7, four points) has hit the wall, among others. Danilo Gallinari was 3 of 12 and Wilson Chandler was 4 of 9, but soft defensively. David Lee had a rare off night — 5 of 16.
With Nate Robinson out with a strained hamstring, the bench was pitiful — as D’Antoni bypassed Larry Hughes and went with rusty rookie Toney Douglas, who got beat repeatedly by Kidd’s backup Jose Barea (11 points).
“It was bad by everybody,” Lee said. “If we win by 50 I wouldn’t say we’re the best team in the East. We lost by 50 points, we’re not the worst team in basketball.”
Said Chandler, “You don’t expect to lose by this much. They kept their foot on our necks.”
Early in the fourth, the Mavericks toyed with the Knicks, enjoying it full tilt. Rookie Rodrigue Beaubois, the pride of Guadeloupe, flipped in a circus shot as he fell back after a collision with Jonathan Bender, putting the Mavs up 109-60.
After Al Harrington flipped up an airball from the 3-point line, the fans booed. When they left the court after the third quarter, they booed again. But in truth, not nearly loud enough.