Derek Fisher and the New York Knicks went to New Orleans Tuesday night with one chief objective: Keep the Pelicans, the NBA’s top team on the inside, out of the painted area.

But not much has gone according to plan for the Knicks over the course of their current losing streak and that trend continued on Tuesday as New York struggled to contain New Orleans inside. The Pelicans used a 54-40 advantage in the paint and outrebounded N.Y. 43-30 en route to a 104-93 victory, sending the Knicks to their ninth consecutive loss.

Afterward, Coach Fish lamented his team’s inability to execute the game plan that they had set forth to force New Orleans to beat them from the outside.

“We needed to keep them out of the paint,” Coach Fish said. “We talked ad nauseam about keeping this team out of the paint. They’re the No. 1 team in the league in points in the paint, and I’m not sure why we couldn’t hold on to that thought while we were out there on the floor.”

Despite Derek’s game plan to take away the Pelicans’ inside presence, New Orleans used the size of 6-6 guard Tyreke Evans, as well as star forward Anthony Davis to pressure the New York defense down low.

Evans and Davis both starred in the Pelicans victory, chipping in 27 and 18 points respectively.

To make matters worse, New York star Carmelo Anthony voiced concerns after the game about a lingering knee injury. Anthony finished 6-of-11 with 17 points and eight boards—a relatively quiet night for one of the league’s best scorers.

“At this point, it’s evaluating and seeing. Some days are better than others. It’s a matter if I want to continue to play on it and the pain threshold. The flip side to that is we are losing games. I hate it, I hate to sit on the sidelines and watch my teammates.” Anthony said. “At this point, sitting down with trainers and coaches and seeing what’s best for everybody. If it’s best for me to sit out, take some time to get it right, then that’s a decision we’ll have to make. But they’ll have to pull me out. “It don’t get better, it don’t get worse. I’ll see. I don’t have that answer now. I’ll see how it feels

[Wednesday].’’

Melo had five of New York’s 27 points in the first quarter, during which the Knicks got a balanced offensive effort to keep pace with the Pelicans. New Orleans took a slim 28-27 advantage to the second behind nine points from Evans.

The second quarter brought similar results. It was more Evans for the Pelicans, but Amar’e Stoudemire heated up for the Knicks, battling back down low for 12 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting.

Stoudemire and J.R. Smith provided a big highlight in the frame when Smith lobbed an unorthodox pass for Stoudemire to throw down with a defender in his face. Smith appeared to be going for a looping layup after receiving the ball, but instead scooped a pass to Amar’e, who threw it down to give the Knicks a 33-30 lead in the second.

Amar’e was fantastic on the night for the Knicks, tallying a season-high 26 points, most on the team on Tuesday night, with five rebounds and five blocks to out-swat the NBA’s block leader, Davis. Fish praised Stoudemire’s effort after the game and noted that the New York big man simply took what came to him naturally though the offense instead of forcing shots.

“I thought most of his offense came inside of the five-man team concept,” Fish said of Amar’e. “I think that’s why he’s able to be so efficient. He’s taking advantage of his opportunities that come from our execution. That’s the best way for us to try to win collectively as a team.”

Stoudemire’s big second quarter had the Knicks trailing just 54-52 at the break and the Knicks continued to keep pace in the third, remaining just within striking distance of their foe, despite not being able to break through and grab the lead back.

While on one end, the Knicks sought to limit Davis, on the other side, the Pelicans were all over Anthony throughout the night, particularly in the fourth quarter, when Anthony usually shines. Determined to keep New York’s top scorer from beating them, New Orleans sent two, sometimes three defenders Melo’s way, forcing other Knickerbockers into action.

“There are plenty of options on offense, we just have to exercise them,” Fish said. “If they double-team or triple-team someone, the guys who are open will be obvious, but if we don’t do that inside of the offense, it makes it a lot more difficult.”

Stoudemire and Pablo Prigioni were those guys in the fourth quarter, where they combined for 12 points. However, with Melo limited, the Knicks just didn’t have the firepower to keep up with New Orleans. The Pelicans matched those 12 points in the paint alone and got eight points from Evans in the final frame to run away with the victory.

After the loss, Fish opined on his team’s struggles and what the Knicks are trying to build in the long term.

“We’re not measuring ourselves based on other teams in the league, the history of the team and what the team did last year. We’re trying to build something here that will last a long time,” D-Fish said. “It’s a struggle right now. We’re at the bottom. We’re going to keep fighting until we figure out a way to get to the top.”

NEXT UP

Fish and the Knicks (4-19) have a quick turnaround, as they head to Texas on Wednesday night to take on the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs (15-6).

The Spurs will also be on the second night of a back-to-back after falling Tuesday night on the road against the Utah Jazz, 100-96.

The Knicks went 1-1 against the Spurs last season, while Derek’s OKC Thunder team went a perfect 4-0 during the regular season against San Antonio. However, the Spurs eliminated the Thunder in six games during the Western Conference finals.

Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. EST from San Antonio’s AT&T Center and the game will be broadcast on MSG.

RELATED ARTICLES

• Fisher on Knicks loss: It’s a struggle right now (MSG, Dec. 9, 2014)
• Knicks at Pelicans: Game Book (NBA.com, Dec. 9, 2014)
• Evans, Davis lead way as Pelicans hand Knicks ninth straight loss (AP, Dec. 9, 2014)
• Pelicans 103, Knicks 93 (Posting and Toasting, Dec. 9, 2014)
• Ailing Carmelo threatens to shut it down (NY Post, Dec. 9, 2014)