NBA

KNICKS FANS GIVE ISIAH A ‘PINK SLIP’ AT GARDEN

With irate Knicks fans gathered at Madison Square Garden this morning calling for his head, Isiah Thomas said he had only one thing on his mind: tonight’s game.

“I have no reaction to it,” Thomas said of the pink-slip gathering at the World’s Most Famous Arena. “Just trying to beat the Cavaliers tonight.”

His players, however, were sympathetic to the fans’ disappointment over a 7-17 last-place record and more courtroom drama than on-court success.

“I know there’s a lot of frustration with the fans right now,” David Lee said.

Malik Rose seemed happy anyone was paying attention to his woeful club.

“There’s a protest going on in New York City every day. I’m glad we were able to be part of the New York protest,” Rose said. “New Yorkers have a right to speak their mind and most New Yorkers do.

“Everyone has a right to free speech.”

Fans gathered at the Garden to urge chairman James Dolan to fire Thomas. Organizers designed a pink slip 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide and asked irate fans to sign.

Late in Monday’s 27-point loss to the Pacers, Jason Silverstein raised a “Fire Isiah” sign scribbled on a food tray, with an arrow pointing toward the Knicks’ bench where Thomas was sitting. A security guard grabbed the fan’s arm and ordered him from his seat, but allowed him to stay inside the arena.

The 23-year-old Manhattan real estate agent and die-hard Knicks fan said of Thomas, “He’s putting himself before the team. He’s not listening. It’s always, ‘Isiah, Isiah, Isiah.’ ”

Thomas, both coach and team president, has been hounded by bad publicity and calls from fans to quit since October when former team executive Anucha Browne Sanders won a sexual harassment lawsuit against him and the Garden. It was settled for $11.5 million.

The three-week trial leading up to the verdict left a crude image of a storied franchise brought low by dysfunctional management.

Browne Sanders testified about insults and unwanted advances from Thomas as well as the off-court sexual escapades of star Stephon Marbury.

Trial evidence portrayed Thomas as a swaggering, cursing bully who first tried to intimidate Browne Sanders with brutish language after his 2003 arrival but later showered her with insincere affection.

Thomas has repeatedly disputed the allegations but had to endure boos on the basketball court even before his team launched its new season with a string of lopsided losses.

NBA commissioner David Stern told ESPN that the Knicks’ handling of the lawsuit “demonstrates that they’re not a model of intelligent management.”

With The Associated Press.