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With Carmelo Anthony out, Knicks fall to Kings, 88-80

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It's another rough night for Kristaps Porzingis and the Knicks, as they lose for the fourth time in their last five games.Seth Wenig/AP

It’s another rough night for Kristaps Porzingis and the Knicks, as they lose for the fourth time in their last five games.

The Knicks got a taste of life without Carmelo Anthony. It was dreary and sloppy and ugly and the Knicks lost yet again, 88-80, to the sad-sack Kings.

Anthony was ruled out not long before tipoff because of a migraine headache, the same one that prompted the 31-year-old to leave the locker room a night earlier in Washington without talking to the media.

Watching the Knicks commit 15 turnovers and shoot 35 percent against the Kings, it’s easy to see why Anthony’s head hurts.

The Knicks (28-43), losers of four of their last five games, fell behind by 16 in the first quarter and never really recovered, even as Sacramento (27-42) opened the door time and time again. Robin Lopez led New York with 23 points and 20 boards, but was outdone by the 24-point, 20-rebound effort from Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins. The sellout crowd rarely raised the decibel level above library.

The Knicks fell to 0-8 this season without Anthony, the team’s lone All-Star who has grown increasingly frustrated by the direction of a franchise set to miss the playoffs for a third straight year.

“When I had Melo, he could do anything on the court,” said Kings coach George Karl, who coached Anthony with the Nuggets. “He has a skill level that has very few weaknesses, it’s just how he puts the package together. I always thought he gravitated to be a scorer, rather than be maybe a complete player. And don’t get me wrong, most guys who make it as scorers, it takes some years. Dominique Wilkins, Julius Erving, they all gravitated to be a facilitator later in their careers. I think Melo’s had a Hall of Fame career and I think, I just know right now, just kind of looking at his body language, he wants to win.

DeMarcus Cousins is too much for the Knicks, scoring 24 points and grabbing 20 rebounds.Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

DeMarcus Cousins is too much for the Knicks, scoring 24 points and grabbing 20 rebounds.

“I think Carmelo is a great player, has had some bad (luck) and I would hope that he figures it out here in New York — that is what I have heard he wants.”

At least there was some positive news for the Knicks. Cleanthony Early returned to the NBA court for the first time since he was shot during a robbery outside of a Queens strip club on Dec. 30.

It was a brief appearance for the Bronx native: He played the final 17 seconds of the first half.

Early – who had not spoken publicly since the shooting – sustained no structural damage as the bullet went through his right leg.

“When you look back on it the biggest part of it was just how fortunate he was that something more disastrous didn’t happen and especially when you look at what could’ve happened with his knee,” interim coach Kurt Rambis said. “It could’ve caused much more significant damage than it did. So he’s very fortunate. And he knows that. He understands that.”

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