Carmelo Anthony is almost always the last player to leave the Knicks locker room. Monday night, when reporters were let in, an angry Anthony already was dressed at his locker, ready to get out of Dodge.
That’s all you need to know about the miserable state of the Knicks and of Anthony, who appeared to question his teammates’ desire.
“My mood?’’ Anthony said. “I need to go home and relax and decompress a little bit.’’
It was a nasty night at the Garden. Boos rained down on the Knicks as they walked off the court at halftime trailing by 14 points.
But the biggest Garden protest occurred with 6:30 left in the third quarter, the club down 17, on their way to a desultory 122-95 destruction by the high-flying Raptors.
That is when the first “We want Jimmer” chant occurred.
Yes, D-League icon Jimmer Fredette finally got into the game with 1:49 left and the club already down 24 points. And on his first touch, he drilled a 3-pointer as the Garden crowd erupted for the only time of the lost evening. They cheered wildly every time he touched the ball.
But that was the only respite.
Anthony could not hide his utter despair — on the court or off — and seemed to question his teammates’ will, speaking in an ominous tone.
“We need to want to be out there, want to play, want to go deep,’’ Anthony said. “I think we need to take it upon ourselves individually. It’s not anything to do with X’s and O’s. We have to take it upon ourselves to take the challenge as a group.”
In the final ticks of the third quarter, Anthony threw a pass picked off by DeMar DeRozan, who flew in for a fast-break dunk with 0.5 seconds left. Anthony didn’t look up and just started trudging dejectedly off the court, even with time left on the clock.
That summed it up: a Knicks team that looks ready to quit at 24-34, losers of 12 of its past 14.
“Regardless of the record, just losing, accepting that,’’ Anthony said. “It’s hard to accept that. You can’t be accepting that. I hope that’s not the case with the guys. You don’t want to get used to losing.’’
Anthony was reminded Sunday was the five-year anniversary of his trade to New York, and he’s played for four coaches and with 70-plus teammates.
“It’s a lot — a lot to go through,’’ Anthony said. “It’s been tough. It’s challenging, but you got to stay strong and positive.’’
Fredette, whose cult following traveled to the Garden, was signed to a 10-day contract Monday, but interim coach Kurt Rambis said he didn’t plan on using him, preferring to wait until he has more time with the wrinkles of the triangle offense. But Rambis didn’t expect the game to get this out of hand.
“The fans are loving him, giving him a chance,’’ Kristaps Porzingis told The Post.
Toronto’s All-Star backcourt lived up to its status as DeRozan scored 22 points, and Kyle Lowry, in destroying overmatched Jose Calderon, notched a triple-double — 22 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Calderon went scoreless — 0-for-2 with two turnovers.
“We couldn’t find a way to stop them in a half-court defense,’’ said Rambis, who fell to 1-3 since taking over. “We can’t stop the ball. A big part of our communication and second efforts disappeared in this ballgame.’’
Anthony finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, but had three turnovers and missed four free throws. In another momentum-killer, Anthony bounced the ball off his foot on a drive, leading to a Cory Joseph fast-break layup and an 84-64 Toronto lead.
The boos were loud in the final minutes of the first half as the Knicks started to embarrass themselves. Anthony bricked two straight free throws. Kyle O’Quinn did the same. Calderon threw away a backcourt pass to free-agent-to-be DeRozan for a fast-break dunk — drawing the largest jeers of the night.
It was so bad, the mild-mannered Porzingis picked up a technical foul with 4:24 left. Porzingis had an invisible night until the fourth quarter, when he came alive too late. He finished with 17 points but just two rebounds — his interior defense getting worse, his activity level declining in February.
“Not a positive moment in the season,’’ Porzingis said.