Isiah Thomas handed down a pair of mandates this week, ordering the Knicks to ignore the testy masses at Madison Square Garden and to reclaim their home-court swagger with a winning streak. Having apparently failed on both counts, Thomas issued a new order to his players late last night.  The Knicks Eddy Curry extended his streak of 20-point games to eight, finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds.  After the Knicks surrendered 14 3-pointers to the Washington Wizards and 38 points to Gilbert Arenas, after absorbing another round of boos and Fire Thomas chants during a 113-102 rout, Thomas worked his way down the bench.  I told them to keep their head up, Thomas said. Dont walk off this court with your head down, and dont walk off this court embarrassed or ashamed, because I thought the team that we just lost to played a heck of a basketball game.  And they were good. It wasnt because we didnt try to compete with them or we didnt give effort or try to do things to stop them. They were good tonight. And thats the bottom line.  It was a good speech, but there are not enough encouraging words in the Websters dictionary to offset the Knicks sickly home record. They lost for the eighth time in 10 games at the Garden, and to a Wizards team that had been 0-8 on the road.  So the mystery of the Knicks home-court woes goes on, and their quest to make up ground with a soft December schedule is so far a failure. They are 7-14 and searching for every comforting cliché.  We understand its early, Quentin Richardson said. Most of us been around the block in the league before. We still have to have a sense of urgency, but theres still a lot of basketball to be played.  The Wizards tied a franchise record for 3-pointers made, and they did it on just 20 attempts. Arenas went 6 for 9 from long range, while Antawn Jamison (33 points) went 6 for 8. Jamison struck twice from behind the 3-point arc, and DeShawn Stevenson followed with another 3-pointer as the Wizards pushed their lead to 18 early in the third quarter.  The Knicks knocked the deficit down to single digits just once, late in the third, but never threatened in the fourth quarter. The final score was misleading  they trailed by 21 with 3 minutes 21 seconds to play.  The Knicks tried to match the Wizards 3-point prowess, but missed 13 of 17 attempts. They succeeded at getting to the free-throw line, but missed 13 of their 39 attempts. But it was the inability to contain Arenas and Jamison that hurt them most.  Thomas conceded some defensive breakdowns but insisted the Knicks were generally solid, and his players generally agreed.  If theyre going to hit contested 3s two feet behind the 3-point line, its going to be tough for anybody to stop them, David Lee said. Its not as though they were getting easy layups.  Not that any of this would mollify the 16,272 in attendance, who booed throughout the second half. Eddy Curry had 22 points and 11 rebounds  his eighth straight 20-point game  but was booed when he missed two free throws early in the third. Steve Francis was booed for a careless turnover and a missed 3-pointer. Stephon Marbury was booed simply for checking back into the game. And with two minutes left, the Fire Thomas chants  dormant for the last few weeks  rained down again.  The fans are the fans, Thomas said, and theyll do their thing. They were disappointed just like we were disappointed. But sometimes a team that youre playing against is just better than you are on that night.  Thomas also pointed to the absences of the injured forwards Channing Frye and Jared Jeffries (a former Wizard), saying, When Washingtons playing at this level, I dont think were a good enough team to beat them without two of our main guys.  Currys streak is the best thing the Knicks have going for them, but it is being wasted; they have won only three of the games in his streak. Richardson and Marbury added 16 points each for the Knicks, who have three more games in this homestand and eight more home games this month.  David Lee accepts the fact that he will soon be back on the bench, but he is not hiding his disappointment. Lee has been productive as a starter since replacing the injured Channing Frye at power forward. But Coach Isiah Thomas said that Lee would relinquish the role once Frye and Jared Jeffries are healthy. Im surprised hes already made that decision, Lee said, but as long as I get a chance to go in and contribute and our team hopefully gets on a winning streak here in December, thats of first and foremost importance. Lee said it was more important to him that he played during fourth quarters. Lee has been equally effective in both roles, and it was suggested that Thomass decision was a compliment to his versatility. Lee chuckled. Lets put it this way, I dont think its a compliment. But at the same time, I respect his judgment on whatever he decides to do. Lee added, Id like to think that, yeah, I can bring that consistent energy, whether Im starting or coming off the bench. Lees strengths are rebounding and defense, which has made him a good fit alongside center Eddy Curry. Lee said he enjoyed taking some of the pressure off Curry.
Two nights after winning their second home game of the season, the Knicks collapsed again Wednesday night to the dismay of a thin but irritable crowd at Madison Square Garden.