VIEW TO A KILL
Boo-fest at MSG as Phil’s no-show Knicks crushed by Lakers
Fans voiced their frustrations loudly and often during the Knicks’ ugly 121-107 loss to the Lakers on Monday night, letting Phil Jackson know what they think of his struggling squad that fell to a season-worst nine games below .500.
Who knew the Knicks’ rock bottom would be the color of purple and gold?
Meanwhile, Jeff Hornacek was seeing red — fuming on the court and in the postgame press conference. One source told The Post Hornacek asked if the players don’t want to play for the coaches any longer, at least to play for themselves.
By the third quarter, as the lowly Lakers continued to roll, the incessant Garden booing was being drowned out by the cheering from the large coterie of purple-and-gold fans as the Lakers routed the Knicks 121-107 in a Garden disgrace — suffered at the hands of a Lakers squad that had lost 12 in a row on the road.
An angry Hornacek challenged the starters to be better and promised tougher practices ahead as the Knicks plummeted to a season-worst nine games under .500 at 22-31. This time, the boos didn’t even revolve around trade candidate Carmelo Anthony, who was the first to greet the press in the locker room after the game when he usually is dead last.
“You have to play for some pride,” Hornacek said. “If you have come out there and just play basketball, you’re on the wrong level. These teams come in — it’s New York. You don’t match their effort and energy, you’re not going to win. Right from the start, [the Lakers] outhustled. They got offensive rebounds, got long balls that bounded around the free-throw line. They got them all.
“We can continue to punish them, get more upset at them or give them positive talk. But we got to do it in practice. They won’t like it, but maybe it will get them going, a good, hard practice. I don’t care if we have a game the day after [against the Clippers].”
On Sunday, Hornacek said he understood if management wanted to make a move that would benefit a future rebuild, and on Monday the players gave Knicks president Phil Jackson more ammunition.
The Knicks’ wretched defensive performance surely had Jackson seething, but he sat in silence in his normal perch, and reporters waiting for him by his black SUV were steered away by security. Jackson never had lost to the Lakers as Knicks president, reeling off five straight wins.
“We all make millions of dol- lars playing this game, so the least we can do is go out there and play hard every night,” Brandon Jennings said.
Jennings acknowledged it was the season’s worst game.
“We got to go out there and fight,” he said. “That was embarrassing. To get embarrassed like that in front of the home crowd, we just got to play with effort, like it means something.”
Larry Nance slammed in a missed layup from D’Angelo Russell for a 20-point bulge in the third quarter, and the Garden was engulfed in Lakers fans’ cheers. The Knicks fans had grown weary — too stunned at the lethargy of their club in a big game to stay relevant in the playoff race.
Anthony, who scored 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting with five assists, was short but to the point.
“They came to play and we
didn’t,’’ Anthony said.
To the cacophony of boos, the Knicks fell behind by as many as 27 points in the first half with Nance’s put-back putting the Lakers up 57-30 midway through the second quarter.
With 6:38 left in the third quarter, Tarik Black received a pass in the paint, and with Willy Hernangomez watching, dunked the ball. Boos came rolling again out of the rafters. Soon after, Justin Holiday’s pass was intercepted by Nick Young, who raced down for a 3-pointer in transition to build the lead to 83-58, and the boos resonated again.
In the final minutes, the Garden crowd chanted “We Want Mett-a” and “Mett-a” for Lakers forward and New York native Metta World Peace to be brought in during garbage time. He came into the game with 1:40 left, and the Garden ex- ploded when he hit a jumper.
The Knicks’ defense was at its worst — and that’s saying a lot. Center Joakim Noah was out with a hamstring strain, and it finally looked like he was missed. Kyle O’Quinn and Hernangomez played awful interior defense.
Kristaps Porzingis, who dominated the Lakers in Los Angeles, missed all six of his firsthalf shots and notched one point in the half. He wound up with 16 points in a forgettable effort. Derrick Rose, after a four-game absence due to a sprained ankle, looked rusty and out of it, shooting 2-of-8 for five points and three assists.
“It’s just not there,” Porzingis said. “It’s kind of everybody for himself a lot of times, both ends of the floor. So I wish I had the answer.”