Hornacek waves white flag before Knicks give effort on ‘D’ in victory
Jeff Hornacek finally gave his playoff concession speech Tuesday, then the Knicks showed why it’s a pity they are all but out of it in midMarch. If they had just played a little more defense …
Despite Kristaps Porzingis going from “confusion’’ to “contusion,” succumbing to a bruised left thigh, the Knicks staged a second-half comeback that saw Carmelo Anthony scoring 20 of his 22 points as they took out the Pacers, 87-81, in a defensive gem at the Garden.
There were some empty rows of seats in the lower bowl, but a very decent-sized crowd filled the Garden, ignoring the sleet and standings.
In the final 30 seconds, as Anthony scored his milestone 24,000th point, the fans gave the Knicks a standing ovation as Anthony dribbled out the clock. When he went to the freethrow line, the fans chanted “Me-lo,” rare love for the embattled star as the Knicks broke a three-game losing streak.
“It was interesting to hear that,’’ Anthony said. “I’ll take it — I appreciate that from the fans to recognizing how hard we played out there tonight.’’
Two days after arguably the season’s worst defeat, in Brooklyn, Hornacek waved the white flag even before the Knicks took the court. The Knicks moved to 27-41 with 14 games to play and stand six games out of the eighth playoff seed.
Hornacek admitted his players took the court against the Nets with “the realization it doesn’t matter.’’
“Whether we’re in the playoffs or not in the playoffs, we’re going to play hard the whole time,’’ Hornacek said. “The playoffs may not be in reach, but this especially could be for other young guys to get some time to show what they really can do.
“Until you’re mathematically done, you’re always going for it, but some- times it’s realistic. Are you going to be able to make up seven games in [15]? Many, many things would have to happen for that.’’
The Knicks are expected to miss the playoffs for a fourth straight season. Asked about Hornacek’s concession, Anthony didn’t object to the notion.
“It’s rough,’’ said Anthony, wearing a fur hat and coat befitting the winter storm. “I think you already know how rough that is for me. But we got to play it out. You already got an idea how I feel about that.’’
In the first half, Anthony, looking like he, too, had checked out, went 1of-7 for two points before his surge — 7-of-10 in the second half.
It wasn’t a good evening, however, for Porzingis. After a sloppy first half, he collided with Indiana’s Monta Ellis in the fourth quarter’s opening minute. Porzingis limped off the court with help of the Knicks’ trainer and Willy Hernangomez and went to the locker room, unable to return.
Porzingis finished with 11 points, shooting just 5-of-17 one game after calling out the franchise as being in “confusion.’’ Porzingis, who said the injury is “nothing serious,’’ added he is a fast “healer’’ and hoped to be back the next outing, Thursday against the Nets at the Garden, but that seems doubtful.
Hornacek said before Thuesday’s win that Sunday’s loss to the Nets had nothing to do with offense, but an inept defense. The Knicks raised it a few notches against the Pacers, holding them to 37 percent shooting and 29 points in the second half. In the prior 16 games, the Knicks had allowed 116 points per 100 possessions — third-worst in the NBA.
“We were just scrappy today,’’ Anthony said. “In the second half we were the scrappier team.’’
“Guys weren’t quitting on plays,’’ Courtney Lee said.
The Knicks, once 14-10, have disintegrated since Christmas. In fact, they haven’t put together back-toback wins since Dec. 20 and Dec. 22. They get the chance Thursday in a Nets rematch.
The rising frustration level is evident with players such as Porzingis, who said there’s “confusion from top to bottom” — perhaps a knock on the coaching staff. Anthony recently indicated the coaching staff fails to make secondary adjustments after other club adjust to them.
“When you’re losing, you go through the same thing — the fingerpointing starts,’’ Hornacek said beforehand. “Is it the coaches, the players, the management? When you win, players don’t say anything. When you lose, OK, now I can say something.”