PORTLAND, Ore. — Another game out west. Another double-digit lead choked away, this one the most shameful.
The Knicks gagged on a 23-point advantage in the second half Saturday as the Trail Blazers pounded them into submission in a shocking 112-103 come-from-behind victory at Moda Center.
The Blazers made a 40-16 run in the second half and outscored the Knicks 35-11 in the fourth quarter from hell. That left the Knicks facing a looong redeye flight home after this horrible defeat. They shot 3-for-18 in the fourth quarter and were obliterated 19-7 on the boards.
Coach Tom Thibodeau questioned his team’s toughness afterward.
“We’ve just got to find a way to get that done,’’ Thibodeau said. “That’s what toughness is about. That’s why competitiveness, toughness, all that matters. Discipline.’’
The Knicks went 1-4 on their Western swing. In three of those losses, the Knicks had double-digit leads, including a 21-point bulge against the Lakers on Feb. 5 to open the trip. With the loss Saturday, they fell to 25-32 on the season, wasted one of Kemba Walker’s best recent games and couldn’t build on their stunning win Thursday at Golden State.
“It just fell apart,’’ said Walker, who finished with 23 points, shooting 7-for-12 with four 3-pointers. “Tough trip for us, it wasn’t good. We had one good win. We were hoping to build off that win [Saturday] but unfortunately we didn’t. Obviously, it just wasn’t a really good trip for us.’’
The Blazers (23-34) are coming off a trade-deadline fire sale, but they still have the young Anfernee Simons, who finished with 30 points. The newly acquired Josh Hart scored 23 in his Blazers debut.
Randle continued a Western spree, scoring 28 points, 16 rebounds and six assists, but it was all for naught. He scored just four points in the fourth quarter.
“It was bad,’’ Randle said. “We were rolling pretty much the whole game. We have to finish the trip off. End of story. I don’t care what it is. Up 20-plus in the third, got to finish it off.
“We have to have more of an awareness throughout the game,’’ Randle added. “As the leader I have to have more of an awareness of what’s going on. When they’re making a run like that, we have to make sure we get a good shot on the offensive end and be more aware when Simons has it going.’’
The Knicks looked spent during the final-period collapse, with the grind of their 10-day, five-game trip catching up while the Blazers were coming off a three-day break. But Thibodeau said there are no excuses.
“Sometimes it’s in your favor, sometimes it’s not,’’ Thibodeau said of the schedule. “Everyone goes through long road trips. It’s part of it. The toughness is you’re on the road a long time; maybe there is some fatigue, but to still have the ability to do all the things that are necessary, even though you may not be feeling your best.
“We’re counting on each other to get the job done. So, it’s five guys tied together on offense and five guys tied together on defense. If one guy is choosing not to do — even if it’s not going his way, then it’s gonna hurt the group.’’
The Knicks were rolling along with Walker sizzling and Randle dominating, as he had all trip. But Randle, facing hard double-teams, went quiet, and he committed two straight turnovers during the fourth-quarter blitz — bouncing a ball off his foot and out of bounds, then firing a pass that was intercepted.
The bold Blazers finally took the lead with 3:20 left on a dunk by Jusuf Nurkic as they dominated inside and the Knicks looked exhausted.
The Knicks got no help from Evan Fournier, who was 1-for-13 for four points. Mitchell Robinson had an injury-ravaged nightmare, finishing with two points and no rebounds before leaving with an ankle injury in the third quarter.
The Knicks, already without Nerlens Noel, struggled at center with Randle needing to play the position at one point.
“Rebounding was problematic,’’ Thibodeau said.
As is their season.