Knicks owner James Dolan was shaking his head in disgust from his baseline seat in the final minute of regulation as the Kings made their move to force overtime at the Garden.
Carmelo Anthony had called it a “must-win,’’ but in the fourth quarter and extra session did nothing to help embattled coach Mike Woodson’s cause. Anthony cooled off late, missing his final six shots, going 0-for-5 in overtime as the moribund Kings posted a stunning 106-101 victory.
Woodson played Anthony the entire second half and overtime and he wore down. It remains to be seen if that strategy will cost Woodson his job. Dolan is scheduled to fly to New Orleans Thursday to give his annual speech at the tech summit on All-Star weekend.
The Knicks will reconvene in Memphis Monday for a night practice. Woodson’s assistant coaches could be heard telling staffers they will see each other next week.
Woodson promised he would still be the team’s coach after the All-Star break, but he also probably didn’t foresee this loss to the 18-35 Kings. Even if Woodson doesn’t get fired now, it is still another black-mark loss for his post-break longevity as the Knicks fell to 20-32 — three games out of the No. 8 seed.
“I’m not thinking about that at this point,’’ said Anthony, who logged 48 minutes, scored 36 points but wound up with a 12 of 28 ledger and three turnovers. “That’s been an ongoing issue, ongoing story. Every day is a new story. He’s still here. That’s what we’re dealing with.’’
A downbeat Tyson Chandler said when asked about Woodson’s job security: “What’s to worry. I can’t worry about everyone’s job.’’
Added Tim Hardaway Jr. “He’s our coach right now. I love him. That’s all I can say.’’
Anthony was morose in the locker room after getting blanked in overtime. He blew an easy layup on the first possession of the extra session and missing a potential game-winning shot with 1.6 seconds left in regulation. He heads to New Orleans for the All-Star Game, admitting this loss will be tough to get over.
“Mentally yeah, just knowing how important this game was for us to start the break,’’ Anthony said. “It’s going to be tough to get into everything going on. Once I get down there and see friends and not think about this for couple of days, maybe it will change.’’
The Knicks were more undermanned than usual as J.R. Smith sat out rather than use an ill-fitting mask designed to protect his broken cheekbone and Iman Shumpert injured his hip in the first half and didn’t return.
Woodson said the Shumpert injury was a killer because it forced him to go with a big lineup and use Anthony at the small forward.
“We had a bad matchup problem with Timmy [Hardaway] playing the 3,’’ Woodson said. “I had to go big and we built our lead playing small-ball with Melo playing the four.’’
Woodson had the option of using a small-ball lineup, but again refused to play point guard Beno Udrih or combo forward Metta World Peace, both out of the rotation. Woodson said it wasn’t fair to play those guys since they aren’t sharp.
The Knicks allowed Glens Falls native Jimmer Fredette to have a career night as he bagged 24 points in 27 minutes.
“It reminded me [of] when he was in college,’’ said Amar’e Stoudemire, who scored 20 points, going 10 of 15 from the floor.
Rudy Gay tied the game at 93 with a mid-range jumper over Stoudemire with 20.8 seconds left in regulation and Dolan could be seen squirming in disbelief.
Anthony got fouled before his shot with six seconds left, forcing the Knicks to inbound the ball. But Anthony missed a 15-footer and the buzzer sounded, bringing on overtime, making him 1-for-12 this season in the game’s final 30 seconds on potential game-tying or game-winning baskets. The Knicks then started overtime 0-for-6 — with Anthony missing four of those shots, including a layup after he barreled effortlessly to the hole. It was a miss he said will stick with him.
On the ensuing Sacramento possession, Isaiah Thomas outfought Anthony for an offensive rebound. Thomas fed Rudy Gay for a 3-pointer and the Knicks were reeling.
“Myself, missed opportunities,’’ Anthony said. “I started overtime with a missed layup and everything went downhill from there.’’
After the game, the Knicks were as despondent as they had been at any point this season.
“I didn’t expect us to be in this situation that we’re in right now,’’ Anthony said. “If someone would’ve told us before the season I’d have put any amount of money they were lying. But we’re in the situation and we have to fight through it.’’
With Woodson or without.