NBA

Knicks in precarious playoff position

The Knicks have fallen out of playoff position with 24 games left, and the way they are imploding and Carmelo Anthony is feeling neglected, there is no assurance they will climb back in.

The standings are now as bleak as the team’s spirit. The Knicks and Bucks are both 18-24, but the Bucks own the tiebreaker having won both meetings this season. The teams play two more times, so the Knicks could still qualify if they tied for eighth.

And the Bucks were fortified with a reported trade with the Warriors for Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown, in exchange for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson.

It seemed inconceivable when the season began the Knicks would miss the playoffs. Their first-round pick goes to the Rockets, though it is lottery protected through No. 5.

The Knicks have to go 15-9 the rest of the way to finish .500, which should be good enough for the eighth seed. Of their remaining 24 games, 12 are against presumptive East playoff teams: the Pacers three times, the Bulls, Magic and Hawks twice, and 76ers, Celtics and Heat once.

The Knicks’ six-game losing streak could turn into nine games. The Trail Blazers, tonight’s Garden opponent, are no pushovers, and a home-and-home with the rugged Pacers looms Friday and Saturday.

“Everyone understands the stakes,’’ coach Mike D’Antoni said after Monday’s loss to the Bulls. “We know we have to keep eighth place or better and we have to shake it off. They got to dig deep. They have to understand the position we’re in.’’

* While his agent, David Falk, declined comment on Toney Douglas’ future, the Knicks have reviewed offers for Douglas, the combo guard who has been out of the rotation since Jeremy Lin took over the point guard position in early February.

* Blazers coach Nate McMillan, who has one year left on his current deal, has been rumored to be a potential successor if D’Antoni does not return next season.

McMillan was pursued by Isiah Thomas to coach the Knicks in 2005.

* Dick Harter, a veteran NBA assistant who assisted Pat Riley when he coached the Knicks, died Monday night in Hilton Head Island, S.C. He was 81.

Harter, who was the Charlotte Hornets’ first coach, also was an assistant with the Pacers three times before retiring in 2010. He was the defensive coach under Larry Bird when the Pacers reached the NBA Finals in 2000. Before that, he also assisted Chuck Daly in Detroit and P.J. Carlesmo in Portland.

Harter also led Penn to two NCAA Tournament appearances and was the Oregon coach when the Ducks ended UCLA’s 98-game home winning streak.

* The Blazers’ Raymond Felton, the Knicks’ starting point guard at the start of last season before the Anthony trade, has not enjoyed a good season. He reportedly is overweight and has been mentioned as a potential trade acquisition for the Lakers.

Felton was ticked off at the Knicks for trading him just half a season into his two-year deal, especially after he had mastered D’Antoni’s speedball attack.

— with AP