Enes Kanter of the Knicks looks on during the second...

Enes Kanter of the Knicks looks on during the second half against the Mavericks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac

The mood was restless at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night, the Knicks down by 16 points and fading in the third quarter when the chants grew loud, a chorus of, “We want Kanter,” breaking out from all over the stands.

And just a couple of hours after he said he would not be swayed by the voices in the crowd, Knicks coach David Fizdale signaled to the end of the bench and called for Kanter as the chants echoed through the arena. The cheers grew louder and when a break in the action allowed him to enter, Kanter, who had not played in the last four games, stepped to center court, slid down to the floor and kissed the Knicks logo. Maybe in another season it would have inspired a comeback victory for the Knicks. But in this season Kanter immediately fired up an airball and the deficit steadily grew until the Knicks fell to the Dallas Mavericks, 114-90.

“I was planning this for a long time,” Kanter said. “I was just waiting to get back in. You never know how long I’m going to play here. I was so happy I got in, just to show the fans some love for maybe, I don’t know, one last time.”

Kissing the court by the time he got into the game meant it wasn’t exactly sterile, but Kanter wanted to make a point and show his appreciation as he knows that his days are numbered here.

“It was kissing the logo. It was the logo,” Kanter said. “Man, people don’t understand it. I love this team. I love this organization. I love this franchise. I love this city. It’s given me so much from day one.

“He yelled my name, ‘Enes,’ and I was like, ‘Whoa, really?’ I even looked around like, is he serious? And then I got up and the fans just started to clap. I was like, OK, this is really happening. I got in. I was happy, man. I was definitely happy to play.”

Fizdale had said before the game that he would not be swayed by the chants and he insisted that it had nothing to do with his decision to turn to Kanter this time, instead putting him in because the effort and energy from the other big men was not satisfactory.

“They can chant whatever they’d like to chant,” Fizdale said. “But at the time it’s just, that’s what it was. We just weren’t playing very good basketball. Again, in all fairness to him, that’s what I told him face-to-face what I’d do — every chance I get to plug him in there and try to help the team I’m going to do it. So tonight was that opportunity."

The only cheers left came when Dirk Nowitzki entered the game late in the fourth quarter and scored on a three-point field goal, a going away present for the NBA legend. For the Knicks though, it was just one more loss in a long season. The Knicks had a night off Tuesday and even on a night off they found themselves absorbing more losses.

First, the focus on player development took a hit as none of the five rookies or sophomore on the roster were selected to participate in the Rising Stars Challenge on All-Star Weekend. And then when the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Washington Wizards Tuesday it allowed the Knicks to slip into the basement, holding the worst winning percentage in the NBA. 

It’s not exactly the advertisement the Knicks want to flash across the league as they hope for players like Anthony Davis to want to join on for their rebuilding project.

“Yeah you never want to be there,” Fizdale said. “But I’m also a realist when it comes to where we are and what we’ve had to go through as a team. Like I said, this is just the beginning for us. This is not something that’s going to define us as a group. The character of this group is a winning character and I see great things coming for them. So they’re taking their lumps. And that’s fine. Somebody has to be in that spot right now and that’s us.”

It would be hard to be worse. The Knicks are now 10-40 with 11 straight losses, 19 in their last 20 games and 24 in the last 26. While a team like the Mavs arrived below .500 at least they could point to their star rookie, Luka Doncic, and even enjoy the last go-round for Nowitzki, who was likely playing his last game at the Garden.

The Knicks are left to find bright spots in a season bereft of much to cheer about. The chants at home have been mostly for Zion Williamson, regarded as the prize of the upcoming NBA Draft — although the Knicks drop to the bottom comes in a season when the league, in an effort to deter teams from tanking, provided the bottom three teams all with the same 14 percent chance to win the lottery. For the get-rich quick crowd, that means an 86 percent chance the Knicks are watching someone else selling Zion jerseys.

“Obviously you always want to win,” Fizdale said. “Every game we play we’re trying to win, but to see who can ultimately fill in the gaps for a winning team as we go into free agency and things like that, next year’s draft. What guys can really fill in winning roles once we get to August of next year? These guys, like I said, they have a real workman-like attitude, they don’t get beatdown. They keep coming back.”

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