NBA

Knicks lose to Warriors; ‘It was awful’

OAKLAND, Calif. — Tyson Chandler couldn’t stay on the floor, Amar’e Stoudemire couldn’t shoot straight and Carmelo Anthony couldn’t find any of his Christmas mojo.

“The Broadway Bigs’’ were a major flop last night as their West Coast debut was a disaster, doomed by Chandler’s start-to-finish foul trouble in a 92-78 loss to the Warriors at Oracle Arena.

Failing to take advantage of Warriors sharpshooter Stephen Curry sitting out with an ankle sprain, the Knicks fell to 1-1 and take on the Lakers tonight at Staples Center.

The Knicks, who were outscored 28-14 in the fourth quarter, also had another crummy third quarter, losing all of their 43-37 halftime lead. This time it was Chandler succumbing to foul trouble, picking up his fourth with 5:14 left in the third and heading to the bench. Chandler picked up his fifth foul with 10:34 left in the fourth quarter, hacking Dominic McGuire on a drive. He came out again and that was the beginning of the end.

“Our defense was good in the first half, and we should’ve been up 20 instead of [six],’’ coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We just played bad. It was awful.’’

A frustrated Chandler played 21:34, taken out after receiving a technical foul for throwing down a Warriors player after the whistle as he battled for an offensive rebound with 3:20 left. D’Antoni took him out for good after he scored two points and grabbed three rebounds.

Stoudemire finished with 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting; he also had four turnovers. Anthony, after his 37-point outburst in the season opener Sunday, was held to 13 points on 3-of-13 shooting – 0-for-4 from the 3-point range. Landry Fields, who had a lousy second half, finished with 14 points but with four turnovers.

“We were out of position a lot of times,’’ Chandler said. “As a team, we have to stick with our defensive principles. We’re getting fouls for being out of position. We don’t have the chemistry we will have.’’’

The Mark Jackson-coached Warriors held the Knicks to 40-percent shooting and 35 points in the second half.

“This is going to be strange to hear but we are a defensive team,’’ Jackson said. “It’s a shocker.’’

They were out of synch and their bench depth is a giant issue as they soldier on without sixth man Iman Shumpert and first big man off the bench, Jared Jeffries.

“It makes it tougher (with Chandler out) especially with Shumpert and Jared out,’’ D’Antoni said.

“Our defense is ahead of our offense,’’ said Stoudemire.

He often squared off against ex-Knick David Lee, who scored 13 points and hauled in five rebounds.

“He didn’t slow me down, I did,’’ Stoudemire said. “I missed shots I would normally make.’’

A give-and-go with Lee led to another McGuire layup, a 76-68 lead and a timeout by D’Antoni with 8:49 left. It was too late by the time D’Antoni put back Chandler as Dorell Wright and Monta Ellis buried back-to-back treys to lift the Warriors into a 84-70 lead with 5:02 left.

Chandler returned, but the game was all but over.

“It was one of those games you see we’re not quite ready yet,’’ D’Antoni said.

The lowest moment of the third quarter occurred when Toney Douglas, on a fast break, threw over the head to a wide open Renaldo Balkman and out of bounds. D’Antoni soon called time out and reamed out Douglas on the bench, making gyrations. Douglas shot 3-of-11, 0-of-5 from the 3-point range.

Stoudemire also looked ragged and played a shaky floor game. During Golden State’s comeback, Stoudemire drove into a triple-team and sent up a shot that got blocked.

Monta Ellis led Golden State with 22 points — 12 in the final quarter. The teams were tied after three quarters at 64 when Warriors guard Brandon Rush hit a buzzer-beating trey.

The Knicks controlled the first half and led 43-37 at halftime, despite the sloppiness.

They survived the first two quarters despite foul trouble from Chandler that put their thin bench to the test.

D’Antoni went deep. Steve Novak made his Knicks debut, which was expected. Rookie 7-foot center Jerome Jordan made his NBA debut, which was unexpected.

With a tight defensive posture, the Knicks led by six at the break, holding the Warriors to 35-percent shooting as the club sorely missed Curry, their sharpshooter.

D’Antoni talked about limiting Golden State’s fast-break opportunities, something that was a flaw in their season opener vs. Boston, and they accomplished that goal for two quarters.

Fields, playing 45 miles from his alma-mater Stanford, looked sharp and aggressive in the first half (5-of-7 from the field) before his second-half struggles. He banged home an open left-corner 3-pointer with 1:23 left in the half, giving the Knicks their biggest lead, 43-35.

Chandler picked up his second foul with 3:23 left in the first quarter and went to the bench. He didn’t return until 5:08 left in the half. The Knicks began the second quarter with an unconventional lineup of Stoudemire, Renaldo Balkman and Novak up front and Billy Walker, Mike Bibby, making his Knicks debut, in the backcourt.