A lackluster effort was somewhat understandable (not excusable, but understandable) against the Lakers the night before. But to make the Kings look like the Lakers defies comprehension. The Kings are a much better looking team this year, and as expected used their size well and made life miserable for the Knicks on the boards. They frequently got their players free off of simple pick and rolls, back door plays, and baseline cuts, and the Knicks constantly lost track of their defensive assignments. I rewound my DVR several times because I couldn't believe how easy some of the King baskets were and had to see how they got free. No offensive trickery in most cases -- just another Knick falling asleep at the wheel time and time again.

Tyreke Evans (19 pts, 11 rebs, 7 assists) and Donte Greene (24 pts, 6 blocks, 5 assists, 6-7 on 3 pointers) looked like the second coming of Jordan and Pippen, so meek was the Knicks' resistance. Broken record time: the Knicks' poor shooting led them to press and struggle on both ends of the floor. Larry Hughes, who can usually be counted on for some solid defense, was uncharacteristically ineffective (-21) and played only 13 minutes. The players with better numbers on offense -- Nate and David Lee -- undid their offensive accomplishments with even worse defense.  

Even the young players (most glaringly Gallinari) had major issues with focus, though Jordan Hill at least contributed some energetic minutes and looked good on defensive rotations. Gallinari had one of his worst games of the season on both ends of the floor, which continues to raise questions about how healed his back really is.

Credit must be given to the Kings for playing hard and taking it right at the Knicks when it was clear they weren't going to encounter much resistance. The Knicks made a few runs, led mainly by Nate's revived shooting and some good moments from Lee and Harrington, but this was a game no one could feel good about on the New York side, including the coaching staff.

The turkey isn't going to taste very good for the Knicks on Thanksgiving Day as they wrestle with how to regain some measure of confidence and spark, after yet another slide into the abyss of indifferent play.