It was almost a sterling night for Derek Fisher. His antagonist, Matt Barnes, got booed all evening by a Garden crowd indirectly showing the embattled Knicks coach support.
And, even though playing without their best scorer, Carmelo Anthony (sore knee), and best defender, Lance Thomas (concussion), the Knicks took Memphis down to the final seconds before dropping an 91-85 decision.
It was their eighth loss in nine games and dropped them 0-7 without Anthony, but it wasn’t decided until Arron Afflalo nearly tied it with 10 seconds left and the Knicks down two.
Fisher eschewed calling a timeout and Afflalo launched a left-wing 18-foot fallaway over Jeff Green that went in and out, sealing their fate. Green was fouled after the rebound and he sealed Memphis’ win with two free throws with 6.2 seconds left.
“I don’t know if you draw up a play at the end of the day, I can get up a better shot,’’ Afflalo said. “I just missed it. It was unfortunate in that situation we had to rely on that shot. When I spun off of him, I had a lot of space. I tried to get into my routine pull-up jump shot.’’
Afflalo, Anthony’s trusty wingman, got hot in the fourth quarter, but ultimately finished 4-of-15 as the Knicks shot 37.5 percent. Afflalo also missed a last-second shot two weeks ago versus the Thunder minus Anthony — a loss from which the Knicks still haven’t recovered as they dropped to 23-30 and 4 ¹/₂ games out of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
After an invisible first half, struggling rookie Kristaps Porzingis came on strong following the break, scoring 15 of his 17 points and notching six blocks with 10 rebounds.
Barnes, who had attacked Fisher in October in Los Angeles because the Knicks coach was dating his estranged wife, was booed when he checked in and any time he launched a shot.
Peace prevailed between the two Friday but Barnes now is 3-0 against Fisher — two Memphis victories and triumphant in the brawl.
“I get booed everywhere,’’ Barnes said. “I don’t mind it I enjoy. It means you’re doing something. They don’t boo you if you’re not doing anything. They’re booing if you’re doing something right which is what an away crowd is supposed to do. It’s what they’re here to do and they do a good job if it.’’
The thuggery came elsewhere in two other incidents — one involving Mario Chalmers and Sasha Vujacic. Chalmers got ejected in the third quarter after elbowing the Slovenian in the neck area as they lay on the court after fighting for a loose ball. It was called a flagrant 2 because it was intentional, as he looked to get free.
Chalmers had words with the Knicks’ bench as he left the court and the Knicks seemed to get a spark.
“[Sasha] had my arm locked,’’ Chalmers said. “I just tried to get up. If I would’ve elbowed him or acted like he did, it would’ve been a lot more vicious.’’
There was another ejection — a fan in the front row. Porzingis fouled Vince Carter hard on a drive and he tumbled into the crowd, colliding with a spectator who began harassing him. The fan was booted.
“It didn’t involve me so I got to stay away,’’ said Barnes, who has been disciplined by the NBA twice over the Fisher incident.
Meanwhile, the Knicks battled. Jose Calderon outplayed Memphis’ free-agent-to-be point guard Mike Conley with a smooth-shooting 18-point night, driving past him on a couple of occasions. Conley finished with eight points an nine assists but had two key free throws in the final minute.
The Knicks fell behind 10-0 to start — a near duplication of Thursday’s 9-0 deficit to start against the Pistons in Auburn Hills, Mich. Fisher considered that more noteworthy than Afflalo’s last-second miss, though Fisher volunteered center Robin Lopez was cutting down the lane free.
“He got a really good at the basket,’’ Fisher said. “Arron made a great move, got a great look and it went in and out.’’