Out of the desolate locker-room area inside Footprint Center in Phoenix late Friday night, Knicks president Leon Rose, chief adviser William Wesley and executive Allan Houston trudged gravely down the hallway with glum faces.
They had watched not just another loss, but a traumatic one against the depleted Suns, who were missing their two superstars, Chris Paul and Devin Booker.
Victory seemed in the bag for the Knicks — even despite Julius Randle’s senseless ejection with 2:40 left in the third quarter for pushing Cam Johnson, who got the last laugh. Johnson sank a miracle, banked-in, 30-foot, pull-up 3-pointer at the buzzer to cap his 21-point fourth quarter, spurred by the Randle ejection.
“It’s all right,’’ Wesley said aloud to no one in particular after the 115-114 loss. “We’ll get the next one.’’
Then the three executives ducked into a separate room to digest this horrific defeat. After a seventh straight defeat and a 3-17 record in their last 20 games and with Randle just not seeming right, it was hard to see the sun in the Valley of the Sun.