The jetlagged Knicks seemed in a post-California-trip haze during and after last night’s 90-85 loss to the Raptors.
Nobody could get his story straight after this lousy Garden defeat regarding Carmelo Anthony’s missed 3-point shot with 10.7 seconds left that would have tied the score. The miss killed the Knicks’ comeback bid from 17 points down in the first half as they dropped to 2-3.
Coach Mike D’Antoni said the team didn’t run the correct play and could be seen speaking animatedly to maligned starting point guard Toney Douglas on the sideline afterward.
But both Anthony and Douglas, who had 21 points, including a 4-point play, thought he did the right thing and Anthony simply missed a good look that spoiled his 35-point evening. Anthony’s trey attempt was their whopping 35th of the game.
“We forgot the play,” D’Antoni said. “It’s a learning experience. We didn’t run the play right. [But] it shouldn’t have come down to that.”
Trailing by three coming out of a timeout with 17.4 seconds left, Anthony took a feed from Douglas behind the 3-point line and bricked it. Douglas appeared to be in the wrong spot when he got the ball, or it is possible D’Antoni wanted him to attempt to drive first. The Knicks settled all night for long-range bombs, which could have been a result of their fatigue.
When told D’Antoni said they forgot the play, Douglas was confused.
“It was get [Anthony] the ball at the end of the day,” Douglas said. “We got to look at it on film. The play was to give him the ball. The game is so quick. [Today] at practice we’ll be able to tell you all.”
D’Antoni would not specify what Douglas did wrong when asked. Anthony didn’t know either.
“Coach told me to go quick,” Anthony said. “That was the shot we wanted to go for. I asked him a two or a three, and he said whatever I wanted to go for at the time. If I had taken it to the rim, I probably would have had a worse shot than that. I figured we were down three with 17 seconds left. If I make it, it’s a tie game. If not, we get a chance at the rebound.”
If the Knicks forgot the play, it was par for the course after taking a redeye flight back from California on New Year’s Eve. They also felt the effects of missing Amar’e Stoudemire for a second straight game with a left ankle sprain, as replacement rookie Josh Harrellson left his magic in Sacramento.
Harrellson, the double-double hero in Saturday’s victory over the Kings, did not convert a field goal, finished with two points and even his last-minute block of Amir Johnson could not propel the Knicks to victory. The Knicks shot a dreadful 28.2 percent in the first half. Harrellson was 0-for-4 — all from 3-point range.
“We are going to feel his absence,” D’Antoni said of Stoudemire. “You might sneak by one game. Josh had an unbelievable game [in Sacramento], but he’s a rookie who’s going to have his up and downs.”
The Knicks had no time to recover from their New Year’s Eve redeye. The Knicks historically are lousy in their first game back from the West Coast, and the condensed lockout schedule compounded it. They only played hard on defense after falling behind.
“There’s no need to cry about the schedule, no need to cry about the plane ride or anything like that,” said Anthony, who shot just 13-of-31 but had 11 rebounds and four assists. “We knew it coming into the season.”
The Knicks had boarded the plane for the flight home at about midnight Eastern Time Saturday and had their own New Year’s Eve celebration as they hit the friendly skies. It was the first time all trip they could kick back and celebrate.
“It was a long flight, 6½-hour flight,” Anthony said at yesterday’s morning shootaround. “With a loss, it would’ve been a bit different. Everyone would’ve been sleeping on the flight. Everybody was up. We were having fun.”
Anthony hit two straight buckets, including a 3-pointer, to get the Knicks within 77-74 with six minutes left, but they never got over the hump.
“We came out flat,” Anthony said.
Toronto’s Rasual Butler (13 points) sank a 3-pointer to put the Raptors up 49-32 in the second quarter, drawing boos at the Garden. On the game’s first possession, the crowd chanted “De-fense!” But as it was clear, there was going to none of it in the first half.
“Right now it seems like we’re a little uptight and there’s no reason to be,” said Tyson Chandler, who had 10 points and 11 boards. “We’ve just got to play basketball.”
Tired, uptight. It all led to a bad loss.
“Everybody’s tired,” D’Antoni said. “That’s going to be the theme.”