NBA: Knicks Fans Boo Melo In Pregame Intros & Chant “Fire D’Antoni” During Game

Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

Carmelo Anthony heard noticeable boos during pregame introductions, but Mike D’Antoni and the rest of the Knicks deservedly felt the crowd’s wrath, too, for the ugliness that transpired thereafter Sunday afternoon at the Garden.

Anthony netted a team-high 22 points through three quarters, but he and Amar’e Stoudemire never left the bench in the fourth as the still-disjointed Knicks fell to 2-7 since Anthony returned from a groin injury with a dispirited 106-94 loss to first-place Philadelphia
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The negativity got so bad late in the Knicks’ fifth straight loss, portions of the crowd chanted “Fire D’Antoni” — the natural progression from the boos that poured down from the stands through much of the second half.

“It’s not fun. Right now we’re finding ways to lose games, rather than finding ways to win them,” Anthony said. “Guys were putting their heads down when we heard a couple of boos out there and that just sucked the whole energy out of everybody. We can’t have that.

“Regardless of what they’re saying in the stands, boos or whatever, we’ve gotta block that out and play basketball.”

The balanced Sixers (25-17) played better in extending their lead over the third-place Knicks (18-23) in the Atlantic Division to 6 ½ games. They were led by Lou Williams’ 28 points off the bench and Evan Turner’s 24 points and 15 rebounds.

Jeremy Lin contributed 14 points and seven assists but he also committed six turnovers and shot just 5-for-18 from the floor in a sloppy performance for the Knicks, who will visit East-leading Chicago on Monday. They are clinging to eighth place in the Eastern Conference, one game ahead of the Bucks and the Cavaliers.

“Collectively, we didn’t play well. Collectively, our spirit wasn’t good. Collectively, our defense wasn’t good,” D’Antoni said. “We just didn’t do what we’re supposed to do. We have to solve that somehow.”

D’Antoni added that the Knicks were “doomed” by allowing the Sixers to erupt for “a crazy 38 points” in the third quarter to extend a two-point halftime lead to 16. Philadelphia led by as many as 21 in the final quarter, and the Knicks’ second unit never trimmed that margin lower than 10, with both Anthony and Stoudemire (nine points) pinned to the bench in the final 12 minutes.

“I don’t really know what was Coach’s mind-set. Maybe he was trying to save us for (Monday in Chicago), I’m not sure,” Anthony said.

“I didn’t take it personal,” Stoudemire added. “Any time the second unit plays well, that’s what we want. If we have the chance to win down the stretch, I’m pretty sure Coach will go back with us. But they came with energy, so let them play.”

Center Tyson Chandler’s return to the lineup after missing two games with a strained left hamstring was supposed to provide the Knicks with energy, particularly on the defensive end. He scored eight points and grabbed 12 rebounds in 39 minutes, but even Chandler’s presence couldn’t prevent the Sixers from slamming in a handful of transition dunks as the sloppy Knicks committed 16 turnovers, including nine by point guards Lin andBaron Davis.

“The third quarter doomed us. Thirty-eight points is just crazy,” D’Antoni said. “You can look at both (the offense and the defense). But it is the spirit, more. For whatever reason, we don’t seem to overcome any obstacles…We were down and it seemed like the world was caving in. There weren’t good vibes in timeouts. We have to keep fighting and we have to have more urgency.”

Chandler, who has emerged as an unquestioned leader in the locker room in his first season with the Knicks after winning a championship last year in Dallas, nodded when told of D’Antoni’s assessment.

“We have to have a commitment,” Chandler said. “We have little spurts and we get down by 15 points. We have to play with that same sense of urgency. Guys get down on themselves when they’re not making shots and things are not going right. That’s when you have to dig deeper. Sometimes you’re going to miss shots. The thing that you can’t do is not get back defensively.

“I’m disappointed with our effort,” Chandler continued. “That’s one thing you can control. You can’t control if you miss shots you normally make. That happens. What you can control is being in the defensive stance, being alert, talking to your teammates, helping. That’s the team stuff. That’s the thing we have to get better at.”
WRITTEN BY PETER BOTTE / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

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