Richard Perry/The New York Times
Beno Udrih, starting again for the depleted Knicks, had 15 points and 10 assists.
A day after James L. Dolan's impromptu meeting with his embattled team, not much changed for the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Carmelo Anthony, Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni remained injured, relegated to watching from the bench as the Knicks fell to the Toronto Raptors, 95-83, on Friday.
The fans still booed. The offense still sputtered. The fourth quarter still belonged to the opponent, this time to the tune of a 29-12 dismantling by the fresh-legged Raptors.
In brief summation, Coach Mike Woodson may have awaked Friday comforted by a smidgen of security, but the problems that plagued the Knicks (9-20) through the first 28 games remained just as darkly stained on their performance in No. 29.
Dolan's meeting with the team, first reported by ESPN and confirmed by a person in the N.B.A. with knowledge of the situation, occurred at some point before practice or during practice Thursday, an effort to calm the disquiet around the franchise.
Dolan told the players to rest assured there would be no imminent deals and that they should play hard, according to the person, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the meeting.
With trade rumors, J. R. Smith's antics, a time-management fiasco against Washington and swelling criticism of Woodson's handling of the team, few days have passed quietly in the Knicks universe. The team has lost 7 of its last 11 games.
And Saturday's rematch with the Raptors looks equally bleak. Woodson said Anthony (sprained ankle) would not travel to Toronto and thus would miss his third consecutive game.
So the vote of confidence was curious timing again by Dolan, who shared his feelings with the team after a 29-point trouncing by Oklahoma City on Christmas Day. On Nov. 19, during his first interview with a news organization about the Knicks in seven years, Dolan told The New York Post: "I have a lot of confidence in Woodson."
The Knicks proceeded to lose seven consecutive games.
Woodson seemed slightly uncomfortable on the matter before the game, too, cutting off a reporter before he could even fully form a question beyond, "There have been some reports ——"
"I'm not commenting on that," Woodson said. He declined to comment when a second question was raised about the meeting as well.
Woodson's sensitivity was not out of the ordinary — he has regularly avoided in-house topics this season — but he has had to answer a lot about his job lately.
Indirectly, his answers typically wind back to his desire to coach with a full and healthy roster at his disposal, a desire that has come close to being fulfilled just once this season: on Monday in Orlando, for one half before Anthony and Felton were hurt.
With a complete team, Woodson said he believes it can still win the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference, which the Raptors lead at 12-15.
"We have not had a full deck," Woodson said before the game. "I'm talking about key guys that have been out. I'm just anxious to see where we are. Because I know if we've got a full deck, we've got a chance to win basketball games. I truly believe that."
Will a "full deck" be on the Knicks' horizon before Dolan decides to make a coaching change? That remains to be seen.
Iman Shumpert, with a left thigh contusion, nearly became the latest to join the team's injury list, but he suited up to play. As did Metta World Peace, who had missed the previous three games with knee soreness, saying before the game, in all apparent seriousness: "Aliens only want to win championships. That's it. Injuries is not a focus."
But neither Shumpert nor World Peace provided much beyond serviceable bodies in uniform on Friday. The Knicks led by as much as 12 in the third, but the Raptors charged back with ease in the fourth. Without Anthony to go to down the stretch, the offense stalled. A 3-pointer by John Salmons with eight minutes remaining gave Toronto its first lead, 74-73, since the second quarter.
"I felt like we had the game in control," center Tyson Chandler said. "We let it dwindle away in the fourth quarter. It's pretty disheartening."
Toronto kept up its attack as the Knicks slogged up and down the court in a daze.
Woodson said the team's short-handed lineup was a factor. The offense shot just 5 of 19 in the fourth.
"I played guys in long stretches based on the fact that we were short-handed," he said. "I rode the guys that got us the lead. I'm not using excuses, I thought maybe the legs kind of set in at the end and shots just weren't falling."
REBOUNDS
Coach Mike Woodson said guards Pablo Prigioni (broken toe) and Raymond Felton (groin) remained out indefinitely. Woodson had no timetable for Felton's return after he sustained his injury on Monday. "Right now he's just going through day-to-day treatment," Woodson said. "When he's ready, they'll let me know." Prigioni will most likely need another week or two, Woodson added.
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