It was an early afternoon at Madison Square Garden, the kind of outing in which families crowd the stands after soaking up the holiday cheer around the city. And it took the Knicks little time to turn the oohs and aahs of the holiday spirit into spirited boos raining down on the home team.
Facing a shorthanded Denver Nuggets squad that had lost seven of its last eight games, the Knicks came out flat from the start. After a brief rally early in the third quarter, they were humiliated on their home court as the crowd — deservedly — taunted them.