PAUL THE WAY: Chris Paul drives to the basket against Kenyon Martin as J. R. Smith looks on during the Knicks’ 93-80 loss to the Clippers. (NBAE/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES — J.R. Smith sounded the alarm yesterday in Los Angeles after the Knicks fell to 0-4 on their nightmarish West Coast trip, after Lob City was too much for Limp City.
The high-flying Clippers of Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan dismissed the ancient and depleted Knicks, 93-80, at Staples Center in yesterday’s matinee. The Knicks are in complete disarray as they limp off to finish their five-game journey to hell tonight in Utah.
With the Nets’ 105-93 loss to the Hawks last night, the Knicks avoided falling into a first-place tie in the Atlantic Division.
The Knicks were undermanned again without their “Trio Grande’’ frontcourt and could be without them again tonight in the trip’s finale. Carmelo Anthony sat in the locker room during the game getting treatment, and said as he walked to the bus: “Not going to talk today.’’
It is highly unlikely Anthony plays tonight, though Tyson Chandler’s chances are better.
It doesn’t matter to Smith, now the voice of the locker room with Anthony rehabbing from his knee drainage, Chandler battling a strained muscle in his neck and bruised left knee and Amar’e Stoudemire home rehabbing his surgically repaired left knee.
Smith, who has been playing through a sore left knee, questioned the team’s “heart’’ earlier in the trip and warned the club may be facing an early playoff exit if it doesn’t get with it.
“I’m fine [physically],’’ Smith said. “It’s just starting to take a toll on me mentally. Losing like this, knowing the type of team we were at the beginning of the year, we have to keep fighting through it.”
The Knicks (38-26) were 18-5 in mid-December. They are now one game below .500 since.
“I believe we can [get back to that],’’ Smith said. “We don’t have a choice. Either keep playing like this and have an early exit in the playoffs or start fighting. We need some help. We have to help each other on the offensive and defensive end. We can’t rely on our offense.”
The Knicks battled with heart for the first half and even came on in the fourth quarter to cut it briefly to nine. But they didn’t have the firepower to keep it up as the athletic Clippers opened a 19-point lead in the third.
“There are no moral victories here,’’ Smith said.
Smith had a bad shooting night (4 of 20), but he drove the ball hard and got to the line to make 8 of 9 free throws and finish with 17 points. The Knicks shot 35.8 percent overall.
“We couldn’t put the ball in the ocean,’’ Smith said.
Coach Mike Woodson questioned the team’s “shot selection” but that was nitpicking.
The Knicks have lost in double digits in all four games, outscored by a total of 80 points. At least the Knicks beat Utah at the Garden before leaving for this trip. However, the Jazz are coming off a big win against mighty Memphis. The Knicks haven’t won in Utah since 2005.
“Whether it is or it isn’t [with Anthony and Chandler tomorrow], we have to come out and fight and try to get a ‘W.’ We have to at least try to get one and go home feeling good about ourselves a little bit,” Woodson said. “After this 0-4, we have to find a way to get one win on the road trip.’’
Woodson said he “really didn’t know’’ whether Anthony or Chandler would play tonight and that means a ragtag starting frontcourt of Kurt Thomas, Kenyon Martin and Chris Copeland could go for the third straight game.
“We’re playing with guys we’re not accustomed to playing with,’’ Smith said. “We knew where guys would be in certain spots. You get thrown in there with some people that haven’t been playing all that much and we haven’t had time to practice, so we got to figure it out.’’
The Clippers’ highlight play of the day came in the third quarter. On the break, starting point guard Paul found Griffin with a high alley-oop pass over Copeland that Griffin thundered violently through the hoop with his right arm. Lob City indeed.
“They are a load,’’ Woodson said. “Jordan and Blake are big-time loads on that block.’’
Point guard Raymond Felton had 16 points and nine rebounds in a solid outing. Paul scored 20 points with eight assists, and Griffin had 12 points and 12 boards and a series of ferocious slams.
For the second straight game, the Knicks started the ragtag frontcourt of 40-year-old Thomas, Martin and Copeland. Thomas and Martin combined to score six points.
“I thought we competed, these guys have pride,’’ said Martin. “This team is not made of one or two guys. But we have to stop the bleeding before we get back to New York.’’
The Knicks took a 8-0 and 13-7 leads and those were the highlights. The super acrobatic center Jordan gave the Clippers their first lead at 16-15 on a breakaway windmill dunk
The irony is the Clippers didn’t play all that sharp, were sloppy and still won handily. “We wanted them to be full throttle with Carmelo and Tyson just for the competition of it,’’ ex-Knick Chauncey Billups said. “But when they’re not playing, it’s kind of human nature to have a subconscious letdown, but you have to find a way to fight through it.’’