Has the reason behind the Knicks’ season collapse just been revealed?

It’s OK, right? The New York Knicks finished third in the Eastern Conference, giving them a playoff spot and a solid footing for the next period of the season - so why does it feel like the entire house around them is on fire?

While 108-102 loss to top of the league is not a national scandal and the Cavs are clearly the NBA’s top side, watching a 23-point lead slip from your hands at Madison Square Garden is not an ideal confidence booster, especially when it rounds off your worst run of the season until now.

“We’ve got to get it fixed, and we’ve got to get it fixed fast,” coach Tom Thibodeau fumed in his post-game press appearance. “[We need to fix] everything. We’ve got to play for 48 minutes on both sides of the ball. We need to get into a rhythm for the playoffs, and we need to have that urgency.”

‘Knicks found a way to make fans sick to their stomach’

Josh Hart was equally as angry as his coach: “Even not being at full strength, we were capable of winning each of those games, adding that the Knicks aren’t “playing [anywhere] close to our best basketball.”

Added to the pain the loss was a pair of new, unwanted records for the Knicks: a three-game losing streak (their longest of the season) and a worrying 0-10 record against the league’s trio of 60-win clubs: Cavs, Thunder and Celtics.

ESPN writer Chris Herring noted that all of the Celtics, Pistons (who they play in the first round) and Cavs came back from double-digit losing positions to beat the Knicks over the season, highlighting their wobbly mentality and giving an even deeper meaning to Thibodeau’s “everything” comment.

Fan media presenter Jonathan Macri summed it up perfectly, writing: “Somehow, in a game that meant absolutely nothing, the Knicks still found a way to make their fans absolutely sick to their stomach.”

Related stories

NBA

Curry brutally honest after feeling “new pain”

Serie A

The crazy club where referees are too scared to go

“This year’s team is playing far from its best as the playoffs are right around the corner. It was an ugly loss. You listen to Thibodeau and the players, this was a bad loss.” said Ian Begley of SNY TV.