The Knicks had already won several impressive victories this season against some of the best teams expected in the NBA, including Milwaukee, Utah and Boston.
A face-to-face victory on Sunday over the high-rolling Clippers would have shaken a complete Garden from its foundation to the rafters, but the Knicks lost strength within their empty home arena in a mostly amusing 129-115 loss to Los Angeles.
Newcomer Immanuel Quickley looked set to recover from a 12-point handicap in the third quarter, with 11 of his 25 points in the fourth, including a pair of 3 points to tie them to two with less than eight minutes remaining.
But former Knicks striker Marcus Morris, who was negotiated last year for the 25th overall choice that allowed the Knicks to select Quickley, fell into a turn 3 to reopen the LA lead to nine. Kawhi Leonard (28 points) pushed him to double digits with 5:40 left, while the Clippers (16-5) moved away.
Reggie Jackson finished with 18 points and Paul George had 17, while the Clippers shot 17 to 38 (43.2 percent) in the 3-point range.
Julius Randle led the Knicks with 27 points and 12 rebounds, and RJ Barrett added 23 out of 9 out of 14 shots for the Knicks (9-12). They will play their next two games Monday and Wednesday in Chicago, where Tom Thibodeau coached the Bulls in 2010-15.
From the start, this was not a typical lethargic tip in the afternoon at MSG, as both teams threw more than 50 percent of the ground in a back and forth in the first half. The result was a 66-65 lead for Clippers in the break.
The Knicks buried eight of their first 10 points on the field, including five starting points each from Randle and Reggie Bullock, to grab an 18-15 lead in the middle of the first quarter. His lead was extended to seven after Barrett’s theft and slam, with just under three minutes remaining, but the period ended with the Knicks ahead by 31-29.
Quickley gave another spark off the bench with 10 points in the second quarter, while Randle and Barrett combined 29 before the break, helping the Knicks to take one in the break.
The Clippers scored the first seven points of the second half and built the first double-digit advantage (12) for any team, with Jackson scoring 10 in the session for a 101-91 game entering the final quarter.