NBA

Knicks fans who boo Jeffries anger D’Antoni

Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni lectured the Madison Square Garden fans for booing Jared Jeffries, saying they should “reexamine their life a little bit.’’

Despite blowing some layups Jeffries, who shot 3-of-9, had a rock-solid night in filling in as the starting power forward for absent Amar’e Stoudemire.

“Indulge me for a second, anybody who boos Jared Jeffries has got to reexamine their life a little bit,” D’Antoni said following the Knicks’ 99-88 winover the Jazz at the Garden. “I love our fans and I like Madison Square Garden, the arena, but here’s a guy who came back to us, minimum contract. He could’ve gone to a lot of other teams. He plays as hard as anybody could possibly ever play, with injuries, everything you ask him. He takes every charge, every dirty play, every rebound. He works every second.”

Jeffries had 13 points in a floor-burn performance, taking a couple of charges and getting fouled often around the rim. He made 7-of-10 free throws and grabbed eight rebounds.

Jeffries was clearly appreciative of the support from D’Antoni.

“I’ll die for him,” he said. “I’ll leave blood on the court … because he’s the best coach in the NBA.’’

Fans are hard on Jeffries because he was a nonentity in his first stint after Isiah Thomas gave him the full mid-level exception in a $30 million deal. Jeffries was also the goat in the Game 2 loss in Boston in the playoffs for going up meekly and blowing a game-tying layup in the final seconds.

“There are people that look at that and go, ‘Well, I think I’ll boo him.’ I have a hard time believing that,” D’Antoni said.

Despite the boos, Jeffries said he loves playing in New York.

“Nobody likes playing at the Garden more than me,” he said. “I’ve had my ups and downs here for sure.’’

* Baron Davis revealed he was diagnosed with an elbow infection 11 days ago in Miami that caused his back pain, a setback in his rehab that could put him out until after the All-Star break. Davis said he may return to practice next week.