A long, strange trip, it was. The Knicks are back at the Garden tonight after enduring an 0-fer out West, playing host to Orlando.
They lost all three games to fall to 3-13. They lost Eddy Curry for the final two with another knee injury. They heard Lakers forward Ron Artest claim players are afraid to sign with the Knicks because of negative fans and media. They endured Nuggets coach George Karl’s opinion the club’s plan of trashing two seasons to wait for 2010 usually doesn’t work and is unfair to coach Mike D’Antoni.
And yet the Knicks got out of Denver pleased with matters, as they took the Nuggets down to the final buzzer in a 128-125 loss Friday. You appreciate the small things during the holiday season.
“We can [be] better from this,” D’Antoni said after the Wild West shootout. “I know I’ve said this before and kind of been all over the board. If we keep this intensity and be like this, they’ll get more comfortable.”
The Knicks shot 38 percent in Los Angeles and Sacramento before exploding in Denver.
Denver’s Chauncey Billups called the Knicks “dangerous,” and Carmelo Anthony, after ringing up a career-high 50 points, said, “They wouldn’t go away.”
“Once we make shots, we can play with any team in the league,” said Chris Duhon, who emerged briefly from his massive slump with 12 points.
D’Antoni said he hopes being competitive for one night vs. the powerhouse Nuggets, who have won 17 straight regular-season home games, will lift their beaten psyche. But the Denver game began a brutal five-game stretch — with Orlando twice, Phoenix and Atlanta. The Knicks played as well as they could have played offensively and still lost.
“They almost care too much and it gets you down,” D’Antoni said. “They want to perform so bad, you really screw it up. That’s where our mentality has been. We’ll stick with some stuff an people and get through this. Everybody had a good game [in Denver].”
As for Denver coach George Karl’s remark D’Antoni that should be made vice president so he doesn’t have to absorb the losses on his resume, D’Antoni said, “George’s known me forever.”