Who says Knicks fans are rooting for the tank?
In the final seconds of regulation Thursday night, fans at the Garden were in full throat as the Knicks went to overtime with the Timberwolves. Both clubs came into the game at 14-53 — tied for the league’s worst record.
In the end, the Knicks remained the worst, folding in the final seconds of overtime for a 95-92 defeat — sealed when Andrea Bargnani’s last-second 3-pointer missed badly and the fans groaned.
It was a brutal ending for the Knicks, who had posted their best victory of the season Tuesday against the Spurs, but fell behind by 10 points in the first half to the depleted Timberwolves, who only used eight players.
“In the first half, our guys didn’t bring the right energy or level of desire to win the game from the start,’’ Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. “Minnesota seemed like it wanted the game more from the start.’’
Not that the players are trying to tank.
As Fisher said, “You can’t practice losing.’’
The Knicks have done a good job at it, however. With 1:15 left in OT, the Knicks were up 92-90 before Minnesota scored the game’s final five points — all from the free-throw line.
Alexey Shved turned into the goat, twice driving to the rim in the final seconds with bad results. He had a runner blocked with 16 seconds left, leading to a fastbreak for Zach Lavine, who was fouled by Langston Galloway with the Timberwolves down a point and 10.7 seconds left.
Lavine made both free throws to give the Timberwolves a one-point lead. Shved, playing the team that brought him into the NBA, drove again, but his layup hit under the backboard with two seconds left and the Timberwolves sealed it.
Shved scored 20 points, but shot 7-for-21 and had four turnovers.
The Knicks face the 76ers — the team with the NBA’s third-worst record — on Friday. If the Knicks finish the season with the worst record, they can’t fall further than No. 4 in the draft.
“It’s the lottery, it’s called luck, so what you do is you go out to play and you try to do that for respect of the game,” Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders said.
Galloway finished with 21 points for the Knicks, but took 20 shots. Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 overall pick last year by the Cavaliers, notched 20 points, but shot just 4-for-17.
Fisher has talked about the personal sacrifices his coaches and their families have faced in many of them moving from Los Angeles to New York. On Thursday came the news Fisher had filed for divorce in Los Angeles from his wife of 10 years, Candace.
A New York P.R. firm issued a statement from Fisher: “This is a difficult time for me personally. For the sake of our children, I ask that everyone respects our privacy during this process.”
Sources had previously indicated Candace, an L.A. native, wasn’t thrilled with the cross-country move. She looked blank at Fisher’s introductory press conference last June, giving quick, short answers when she spoke to the media. However, Candace and their children moved to Westchester County with Fisher, according to a source.
Saunders on Shved’s emergence: “It’s never a question on Alexey’s ability. This system benefits him more. He’s really not a 1, really not a 2. He’s kind of a hybrid player. That’s the triangle. That’s how your guards are. Hybrid. The system is very good for him.”