PHOENIX — The Knicks’ magic number for mathematical playoff elimination is down to one.
After competing for the first quarter in Phoenix, the Knicks were lifeless for the final three as the Suns hung a 132-96 rout on their former coach Mike D’Antoni at US Airways Center.
The Knicks, who dropped to 26-46, are playing out the string as they started off their five-game West Coast trip with a poor effort. They were outrebounded 56-38.
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Any combination of one Knicks loss or one Raptors victory dooms them to their eighth non-playoff season in nine years. The Knicks last made the playoffs in 2003-2004 when sparked by Stephon Marbury’s midseason arrival.
The Suns have the Knicks’ record in reverse at 46-26 and have a shot at the second seed in the West. D’Antoni coached Phoenix to an average 58 wins in his four full seasons, but now likely will lose 50 games for two straight seasons as Knicks coach.
Before the game, when asked about Suns coach Alvin Gentry’s decision not to join his Knicks staff, D’Antoni said, “He did the right thing.”
Six Suns hit double-figures, led by Amare’ Stoudemire scoring 18 points. Steve Nash had nine points and nine assists.
“I don’t think our energy was good coming off the bench,” D’Antoni said of their second-quarter nosedive. “We’ll bounce back. They understood they messed up. These guys are playing as well as anyone in this league. They came out and busted us.”
Starting point guard Toney Douglas struggled, shooting 2 of 11 for five points. Tracy McGrady was also 2 of 11 for five points as the Knicks shot 38.3 percent.