David Fizdale was trying to remain focused Sunday night, trying to avoid another humiliating game for his young team as they faced another team running out the string, the Wizards.
The Knicks were hoping to avoid setting a franchise record for losses in a season. To beat that 17-win season of four years ago, they needed to sweep their last three games and go 2-1 just to tie it. The Wizards already had headed into rebuild mode, having fired team president Ernie Grunfeld last week.
It is a nightly task for the Knicks to try for a win or at least to avoid embarrassment.