Fans or no fans, the Knicks can’t win in Canada.
It wasn’t Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau’s finest hour as he benched his new starting point guard, rookie Miles McBride, after 4:44 and watched Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet erupt for 35 points in 31 minutes during a 120-105 loss at an empty Scotiabank Arena on Sunday.
VanVleet, who sat the fourth quarter, shot 7-for-13 from 3-point range amid the silence as decreed by the Canadian government.
In opening the new year, the depleted Knicks finished their four-game road trip 2-2 and fell to 17-20.
They’ve gone 0-2 since Julius Randle went into COVID-19 protocols and Kemba Walker re-injured his arthritic left knee. Both are out indefinitely with the Knicks awaiting test results on Walker, who was not on the bench.
Fred VanVleet scored a game-high 35 points against the Knicks. AP
Missing three starters in Walker, Randle and center Mitchell Robinson (COVID-19 protocols) proved…
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