They played a meaningful fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden on Monday, and given the current ill state of affairs, this counted as progress.
The Knicks played from behind all evening, as they do almost nightly now, and the Dallas Mavericks built a 23-point lead and inspired all of the usual derisive chants from an increasingly irate Garden crowd.
When the Knicks rode a late burst by Zach Randolph to pull within 7 points, the chants briefly switched from “Fire Isiah” to “Let’s Go Knicks.” But by the final minute, the fans had reversed course again as they watched the Knicks fall, 99-89, to an infinitely more polished and cohesive team.
It was emblematic of the Knicks’ day, their week and their season — a relentless series of pratfalls and cat calls, occasionally interspersed with a victory. (...)
