NEW YORK — In a surprising ending to the Knicks’ latest defeat, embattled Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni benched stars Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire for the entire fourth quarter of their 106-94 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The coach himself was the target of “Fire D’Antoni” chants during the embarrassing loss.
“Right now we’re not having fun,” said Stoudemire, who finished with nine points and five rebounds. “We’re just going through the motions right now.”
Anthony scored a team-high 22 points, but was booed by fans during pre-game introductions and at times during the game. He only scored eight points in the second half, when New York was outscored, 55-45, in their fifth straight loss.
“It is not fun,” Anthony said. “There is no confidence out there when we get down. It seemed like our whole energy just go out the door.”
Asked about the fans’ reaction, Anthony said, “As far as boos go, I’m not concerned about that.”
Speaking in hushed tones inside the locker room, Stoudemire said he doesn’t take it personally that the coach opted to bench the team’s two biggest stars for the final period.
“No, I didn’t take it personal,” said Stoudemire.
“I mean the second unit’s playing well. Anytime the second goes out and plays very well, that’s what we want. If we have a chance to go in down the stretch I’m pretty sure coach would go back with us, but the second unit played well. They came with the energy.”
Anthony said, “I was fine. I guess he was saving me for tomorrow’s game [at Chicago]. That was the mindset out there.”
The Knicks were outscored 38-24 in the decisive third period, when both Anthony and Stoudemire played.
In the fourth, D’Antoni went with a mix of Iman Shumpert, Steve Novak, Landry Fields, Tyson Chandler and Jeremy Lin.
“I just didn’t feel like it was fair to them to take them out and try something else,” D’Antoni said. “If guys are coming to fight that hard to bring us back, I’m going to give them a chance to finish it up.”
Stoudemire said his team — which has lost eight of 11 overall and seven of nine since Anthony returned from injuries Feb. 20 — simply didn’t grasp the importance of this afternoon matinee against the team leading the Atlantic Division.
“We have to do a better job of knowing the importance of games,” Stoudemire said. “This was a big game for us, conference and divisional. We gotta do a better job of knowing that and really going after them.”
He added: “It’s not fun, it’s definitely, definitely not fun. It’s something that we gotta not get used to.”
The remnants of the seven-game, Linsanity-inspired winning streak are long gone.
And some fans continue to point the finger at Anthony.
Since the trade for Anthony in February 2011, New York is 32-41 overall, including 6-5 when he doesn’t play and 26-36 when he does.
Anthony was the last Knick to address the media and said he had no answers as the team faced a quick turnaround with Monday night’s game against Derrick Rose and company.
“We have to figure it out,” Anthony said. “Now is not the time to drop our heads and start thinking too much. We gotta figure it out, one way or the other. Something gotta happen.
“Its a dogfight right now,” he said, “and we’re in this together.”
**Read the NBA.com Notebook with Notes & Quotes here.
Photo: Seth Wenig/AP
