The New York Knicks suffered a terrible fourth-quarter breakdown against the Chicago Bulls on Friday, and head coach Derek Fisher was predictably upset with his players afterwards.
The Knicks scored just eight points in the final quarter, which was the lowest output in team history dating back to 1946, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
After the game, Fisher unloaded on his team, essentially accusing his players of quitting.
“We don’t want to be front-runners — guys who can play hard when things are going well,’’ Fisher said. “We don’t want to be a team when it starts to rain a little bit, we give in. I thought we gave in a little bit there in the fourth quarter.
“We had shots that didn’t go in in the fourth quarter, and I thought we got discouraged and the energy turned around the other way and it snowballed from there. There should’ve been enough left in the tank.’’
This was the diluted version he gave to the media. One has to imagine his words were a bit stronger in the team’s locker room following the embarrassing 108-81 loss to Chicago.
Making things worse regarding the poor finish was how well the team responded to an overwhelming early deficit. After missing their first 10 shots and falling behind by a score of 25-8 in the first quarter, the Knicks pulled to within four points heading into the fourth quarter.
That’s when the meltdown occurred.
Chicago outscored New York 31-8 in the final stanza, winning in blowout fashion.
“The work was done to get the game back,’’ Fisher said. “That’s the most disappointing part. Games are going to be different. The reality is, if you’re down four on the road with 12 minutes to go, you’ve done a decent job. We just didn’t finish the work.’’
No doubt Fisher is trying to rally his troops to play with more heart. It’s going to be interesting to see if his message resounds in a positive or negative manner within New York’s locker room.
With a record of 15-19, the Knicks are still outside playoff contention, four games behind current No. 8 seed Boston Celtics.
There is still plenty of time to right the ship, though, and there is no doubt this team has talent to win more games than it loses before the season is over. Whether or not the players come together is the biggest question, and it appears Fisher has his work cut out for him in this regard.