Fans listen to the Knicks as the battle continues against the Mavericks
NEW YORK — As it rained as his team left the court after trailing the Dallas Mavericks by 30 points, Knicks coach Mike Brown decided it would be a waste of time to talk about X’s and O’s in the locker room.
“There was nothing to say during the break other than shut the door and do your job,” Brown said Monday, holding back as he began to use profanity during his press conference.
His message may have been harder to hear, however, than the fans at Madison Square Garden who were loudly showing how fed up they were with a team losing control of a season that had championship aspirations.
The Knicks went from NBA Cup champions to barely making the playoffs due to a January injury that saw them lose their ninth game in 11 games with their 114-97 loss to the Mavericks.
As for what has gone wrong since the Knicks lifted the trophy last month in Las Vegas?
“There are a lot of things we need to address, but I mean as a team we know what we need to do,” said captain Jalen Brunson. “Either we do it, we care enough to do it, or we don’t.”
Brunson was announced as an All-Star starter early Monday, and he and teammate Josh Hart were cleared to return from injury. There was a day of celebration inside Madison Square Garden.
Instead, the Knicks trailed 16-4 minutes into the game and 75-45 just before halftime. It was only the sixth time the Knicks dropped 75 points in the first half at MSG.
“I’ve never seen the kind of effort we had today. It was embarrassing,” Hart said.
Brown read the stats that showed how disappointing it was: 27 points off the Mavericks’ first-half rush and 28 in the paint — against an injury-depleted opponent without a true point guard, he noted.
Brown inherited a talented and veteran roster when the Knicks surprisingly fired Tom Thibodeau despite reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years. Brown led the Knicks to a 23-9 start, but they are now 25-18.
Brunson was asked how the group begins the soul-searching process.
“It was supposed to start a few weeks ago, but we have to start tomorrow,” he said.
Brunson appeared during the nationally televised game on NBC trying to plead with his teammates during the second quarter, but did not say afterward what his message was. And even Brown couldn’t explain not playing in the first half.
The boos were largely silent in the second half, though they returned in the fourth quarter when Karl-Anthony Towns was ejected from the game. Towns said he understands the frustration on a day when the Knicks not only won but “didn’t really have a chance.”
“The fans are doing their part and we have to do our part,” Towns said.
The Mavericks, on the other hand, welcomed star forward Cooper Flagg. He had 18 points in his first pro game at Madison Square Garden after sitting out Dallas’ last two games, both wins over the Utah Jazz, because of a sprained left ankle. 1 pick also had seven rebounds.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
