Too often, the Knicks are playing to the level of the competition.

It's resulting in some bad losses, none worse than an embarrassing flop in Oklahoma City on Tuesday against the NBA's worst team. The question is obvious. How can that happen to a team that 48 hours earlier was beating up on the league's best team?

This loss made a Sunday win over the Celtics meaningless.

It's an issue Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni has already been forced to address. His team came home after playing very well against the Suns and Laker, then fell apart to Milwaukee. A week later, the Knicks got embarrassed by the visiting Timberwolves.

All of the losses were the result of half-hearted defense.

Consistent effort is the one thing D'Antoni promised the fans, but he's been...

What appeared to be a lopsided victory turned into a nail-biter, but the Oklahoma City Thunder didn't complain. Wins have been rare this season for the Thunder, so they wanted to celebrate after holding off the New York Knicks 107-99 on Tuesday night -- after nearly blowing a 23-point, second-half lead.

It's definitely a slump now. The Boston Celtics can't even beat the New York Knicks anymore. Wilson Chandler scored a career-high 31 points and the Knicks snapped an eight-game losing streak against the sputtering Celtics with a 100-88 victory Sunday night. Al Harrington added 30 for the Knicks, who hadn't beaten Boston at Madison Square Garden since March 23, 2005, dropping the last six meetings.

Jarrett Jack provided a much-needed victory for the Indiana Pacers and some family bragging rights for himself with one big shot. Jack made a jumper with 0.9 seconds left and scored a season-high 29 points, and the Pacers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 105-103 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.

Wins have been rare for the struggling New York Knicks this season -- except when they play former coach Larry Brown. Wilson Chandler scored seven of his 19 points in the final 4 minutes, and the Knicks beat the Charlotte Bobcats 93-89 on Tuesday night to snap a six-game losing streak and improve to 2-0 against their ex-coach.

A week of rest was all Carmelo Anthony needed to rediscover his scoring touch. Playing the defenseless New York Knicks probably helped, too. Anthony scored 32 points after missing three games with a bruised right elbow, and the Denver Nuggets sent the Knicks to their sixth straight loss with a 117-110 victory Sunday.

Kevin McHale turned to prayer, though it wasn't really needed. The combination of Al Jefferson inside and some sizzling 3-point shooting was more than enough. The Timberwolves snapped a 13-game losing streak and won for the first time this season under McHale, getting a season-best 23 points from Rashad McCants in a 120-107 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.