NBA

Knicks seek consistency versus weak foes

When you see the Knicks play a game like they did Wednesday night at Washington — as uninspiring an effort as they’ve authored all season — you have to wonder just how much they can be trusted.

They see themselves as one of the top teams in the league, a championship contender that can stand up to Miami, Chicago, Oklahoma City and any other teams considered elite. But elite teams keep nights like the Knicks had against the Wizards at a minimum and these Knicks haven’t always done that.

Tonight, the Knicks play the Timberwolves in Minnesota. It offers the same kind of trap coach Mike Woodson’s team fell into in at Washington, playing a team it should dominate on the road. The Wizards (13-35) outscored the Knicks 36-23 in the fourth quarter and claimed a 106-96 win at Verizon Center. The Timberwolves aren’t much better, standing at 18-28, after a 104-94 home loss to the Spurs on Wednesday night.

The Spurs played without Tim Duncan (knee) and Manu Ginobli (hamstring) yet collected their 11th straight win. That’s the kind of consistency through adversity you’d like to see from the Knicks, who haven’t impressed anyone with their play on the road of late.

The five-game winning streak snapped by the Wizards was built with wins at Madison Square Garden against the likes of Milwaukee, Sacramento and Detroit. Yes, it’s important to establish a home-court that opposing teams fear. But to be considered elite, the Knicks must become more consistent on the road, especially against inferior teams.

Their last two games away from the Garden have been trouble. The Knicks were blown out 97-80 at Philadelphia on Jan. 26 in a game in which they were never really in contention. Wednesday night they rallied from a slow start to take a 73-70 lead into the fourth quarter, but never recovered after the Wizards opened with a 12-2 run.

“I felt like we came out way too flat,” Tyson Chandler said of the game in general. “I don’t know what that was about.”

It was partly about the Knicks’ porous perimeter defense, which will be tested again tonight by Ricky Rubio. On Jan. 26, at Philadelphia, Jrue Holiday torched the Knicks for 35 points. Wizards’ point guard John Wall zipped past Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd all night Wednesday en route to 21 points. The Wizards also made 11 of 20 3-point shots.

“I’m on my perimeter players for letting a lot of that happen,” Woodson said. “They’ve got to take pride in guarding. You can’t put it on the bigs. It all works hand in hand. The perimeter guys have to do their job and the bigs have to do their job. That’s how you become a good defensive team and you win.”

Rubio isn’t as big an offensive threat as Holiday and Wall, but dished out 11 assists against the Spurs. Any excitement he generates will make things tougher for the Knicks, who need to capture their final three games before the break to meet the goal of a 9-2 finish Woodson had preached.

Of course that goal was set when it was figured the Knicks would go into Washington and beat the Wizards. Now, beating the Timberwolves isn’t a given.

“Any team can beat you in this league if you’re not physically and mentally ready to play,” Woodson said.

We’ve seen the Knicks not physically or mentally ready to play in their last two road games. The losses were split by a five-game winning streak at home, yet it’s a trend that needs to end tonight. If the Knicks want to be considered among the elite teams in the league, they can’t continue to play down to the level of inferior opponents on the road.