Knicks’ ugly loss clearly was ‘unacceptable’

That wasn’t good enough. That wasn’t near good enough. The final was Hawks 108, Knicks 100, and the only reason the Knicks weren’t booed off the floor was because Madison Square Garden decided to unleash one last throaty jeer at Trae Young as he rolled a set of imaginary dice on the Knicks logo at game’s end.

By then, as the final buzzer groaned, there was no more energy left to boo anyone else.

But the Knicks would have earned those boos.

Look: It’s one game in December. It’s foolish to hyperventilate about anything in December unless you’re hopeful to move more than a few hundred yards an hour on the Cross Bronx or the L.I.E. Basketball in December? Lots of ballgames left. Lots of season to go. Deep breaths are helpful. Required, even.