INQUIRER Sports

NEW YORK? As part of a sellout, star-laced crowd filed out of the Madison Square Garden, a fan clad in a New York Knicks jersey let out a frustrated yell: ?See you in 2010, go LeBron!?

It was a frustrating Sunday afternoon for the supposedly rejuvenated Knicks, who were coming off back-to-back victories in the NBA. They ended up flunking it, with a struggling Kevin Garnett hitting a 19-footer as time expired for a 107-105 Celtics victory.

Still, Mike D?Antoni doesn?t believe that fans have nothing more to look forward to than next year?s free agent market, where the Knicks will try to lure LeBron James out of Cleveland.

?We?ve got 69 games left,? D?Antoni told reporters during a press briefing after the game. ?We can be pleased with our effort and I think we executed really well.?

Since making moves in the offseason that seemed to point to the Knicks freeing cap space to become a major player in next year?s reach free agent pool, it seemed as if the team had been sending a message to the fans not to expect too much of the team this year.

They had been playing under the shadows of the New York Yankees, who had recently won the World Series. Sunday afternoon wasn?t even an exception: The loudest ovation came at halftime, when the Knicks honored Yankees manager Joe Girardi for helping a motorist involved in a road accident.

But after rallying to beat Indiana recently for their first winning streak this season and briefly toying with the idea of signing Allen Iverson, the Knicks generated a palpable buzz of electricity as they prepared to face the Celtics.

Fifty-three basketball minutes later, the sellout crowd of 19,763 let out a collective groan as Garnett and the Celtics celebrated a tense victory.

D?Antoni, though, was encouraged by what he saw.

?I?m really confident with the guys,? he said. ?We had a good distribution of points and that?s what we need.?