NBA

Chandler expected back for Knicks, try to end losing streak vs. 76ers

With Tyson Chandler likely returning for this afternoon’s tip-off against the 76ers, Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni was asked about the danger of his team thinking that with its valuable center back, its problems are solved.

“No, we can’t do that,” D’Antoni said. “We’re where we are. Not everything’s good.”

Few things are. The Knicks are in the midst of a four-game losing skid, and their next five games are against teams ranging from solid (the Atlantic Division-leading 76ers) to good (the 23-14 Pacers) to excellent (the Eastern-leading Bulls).

Though Chandler is set to be return after a two-game absence with a sore hamstring — he’s listed as probable — Jared Jeffries still is out with a sore right knee.

The Knicks have surrendered 118 and 119 points the last two games, have not won consecutive games since Feb. 14-15 and have been unable to play hard for four quarters.

“Lack of really honing in. That’s the biggest thing. This is serious. It should be,” D’Antoni said. “I just think there’s too many lapses and our defense has been slipping. Then when we went out with Jared and with Tyson out, we didn’t slip. It slid a long way. That’s not good.

“We explained the urgency to them. Hopefully they know and I think they do.”

“We need to play desperate,” Jeremy Lin said, “not comfortable.”

If the Knicks do play hard for an entire game, they’re unstoppable, said Chandler.

“If we play the way we finished the last two games and the last six minutes of the game, we’ll beat teams by 15 to 20 points,” said the Knicks center, who added his hamstring is improved from when he initially hurt it but admitted the pain is not gone.

“I don’t see a team in this league that can sustain that kind of effort. I feel like we may be the deepest team in the league,” Chandler said. “We should be able to come at teams in waves. But it’s just a matter of putting that together. Maybe we need to look at it. We need to see the difference between the last six minutes and the first 42 minutes.”

The Knicks (18-22) were only two games ahead of the Cavaliers and Bucks going into yesterday’s action.

“I guess there should be concern because the season is only so long, and it’s only so long where you can sit back and say, ‘OK, it’s going to come, it’s going to come’ when it’s too late,” Chandler said. “There definitely has to be a sense of urgency. I don’t know if [there’s] concern right now, but we have to have a sense of urgency.”

The Knicks lost 85-79 to the Sixers at home on Jan. 11. That, however, was a different Knicks team without Lin, Baron Davis, Steve Novak and J.R. Smith.

“We definitely need this win,” Lin said. “What else is there to say? We definitely need this win.”