Knicks again squander big lead, fall to Kings

As the Knicks go into the All-Star break, there are five days to decide what to do once they come out of it. After last night’s 118-114 overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings at the Garden, the Knicks (19-32) are 51/2 games behind the Miami Heat for the final playoff berth in the East. There will be a 31-game sprint to the end of the season following the break, with 18 of them on the road.

A daunting task for a team that is moving in the wrong direction.

With that in mind, perhaps what lies next for this team is to clear the way for Mike D’Antoni to focus on the future for the final 29 games after the Feb. 18 trade deadline.

The Knicks blew an 11-point fourth quarter lead to a Kings team that came in with three wins in their last 23 games. But their inability to keep the Kings off the offensive glass and stop dynamic rookie Tyreke Evans, who had 12 of his 27 points in the fourth, combined with their own lack of a true floor general to get quality possessions in critical moments of the game led to yet another troubling loss.

Evans hit two free throws with 4.9 seconds left to clinch the win for Sacramento (17-34), which snatched 18 offensive rebounds in the game. Evans had 10 rebounds and Jason Thompson added 11 boards, five of which off the offensive glass. Rookie Jon Brockman also had five offensive rebounds in 15:54.

Wilson Chandler had a career-high 35 points and David Lee scored 21 points with 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who led by as many as 15 points in the game. But once again the point- guard position was a major area of concern. Chris Duhon, whom D’Antoni moved back into the starting lineup, had nine assists and one turnover in 36:58, but he made only two of 10 shots, including 0-for-6 on three-point attempts. He missed a potential game-winning three-pointer with 2.3 seconds left in regulation with the score tied at 105.

Then in overtime with the Knicks trailing 116-114, Nate Robinson, in the game for Duhon, drove into the paint and, when the defense converged, he kicked it out to the worst shooter on the team, Jared Jeffries, who barely caught the front of the rim on a three-point attempt with 32.9 seconds left. Robinson, who is playing with a strained left groin, had 11 points and made only four of 15 from the field.

Kevin Martin, whose name has come up as a possible trade candidate, then scored the first nine points of overtime for the Kings. His three-pointer, off a kick-out from Evans, with 2:44 left gave the Kings a 114-110 lead. Martin finished with 17 points off the bench for Sacramento.

For the second straight game, Danilo Gallinari did not play in the fourth quarter, but this time there was a physical reason. He injured his right (shooting) forearm late in the third quarter on a drive. He went into the locker room to get evaluated by the team’s medical staff and returned to the bench with the arm wrapped heavily. The team initially labeled the injury as a sore right arm.