The New York Knicks look drastically different from the team that Derek Fisher took over this summer, and as the season rolls along they’re still looking to not only find their identity, but also learn how to play effectively alongside one another.

The lack of continuity showed up on the defensive end of the floor Wednesday night, when the Knicks fell 115-94 to the Boston Celtics. New York held strong through the first half of play, but it lost control late in the third quarter.

“We have lineups on the floor that haven’t played together very much,” Coach Fish said. “Some of it is who our guys our in terms of understanding of how to play defense and what goes into it. Overall defense is really a mindset. We are trying to instill that not just individually but collectively. In the second half in particular, that got away from us.”

Trades and injuries have left the Knicks stripped of leadership and experience on the floor, the biggest loss being the departure of star forward Carmelo Anthony. Fish gave an update on his team’s foremost leader, saying that he hopes he’ll be back with the team soon to provide a strong presence on the bench and in the locker room.

“I think eventually he will

[be with the team],’’ Fish said. “Once he’s cleared to start moving around, he’ll be around the team and back at the facility as his rehab picks up. He’s looking forward to being back around the team from a leadership standpoint. Even though physically he’s not able to play, the team still feels his impact. He’s a smart basketball player. His eyes and ears can help a lot of guys out there.”

In the meantime, it’ll be on the young players currently in the building to learn on the fly. While the defensive lapses left the Knicks disappointed down the stretch, rookie Cleanthony Early heeded the advice of his coach and came through with one of his better performances in Boston.

Early had just eight points off 4-of-7 shooting, but he also came through with two steals and a block. And as Fish said, it is all about defense and energy for the Wichita State product.

“We talked to him about not worrying about the shot as much, [but] as a young player, to find what it is you can do to help the team,’’ Derek said of Early. “Defensive energy and being a guy who plays with passion is what attracted everyone to him and why we drafted him. Those are the things we want to see from Cle every night. And if he makes a shot, we’ll take that as well.”

Early logged both of those steals in the first half, even though he didn’t enter until the final minute of the first quarter. The first was New York’s best frame, as it shot 52.2 percent and, guided by eight points from Tim Hardaway Jr., grabbed an early 25-23 lead.

In the second, the Celtics turned up their defensive pressure and the Knicks offense stalled, shooting just 26.3 percent. While Boston connected on 47.7 percent of its attempts from the floor, Andrea Bargnani kept Fish’s squad afloat, attacking down low. He earned eight shots at the free-throw line and knocked down seven to keep the Knicks up 49-48 at the break.

“It turned a little bit in the second quarter,” Derek said. “They got a little bit stagnant and we couldn’t get as much separation as we should have in the first half.”

Fish called for a few adjustments in the locker room and the Knicks responded on the offensive end, eventually taking a 68-62 lead. Boston fought back with a run of its own, but Bargnani came through once again, knocking down a 16-footer to give the Knicks a 72-71 lead and eventually force a Boston timeout.

Out of that quick pause, the Celtics made their run, scoring the final nine points of the quarter.

“In the third quarter, it wasn’t bad, it was just those last couple minutes that it got away from us,” Fish said. “After being up 72-71, they ended the quarter being up 80-72, and we couldn’t get it back after that.”

That late third-quarter run lit a fire under the Celtics, and the snapped on their home floor. Rookie guard Marcus Smart went back-to-back from three out of the gates in the fourth, and Jae Crowder made it a trifecta of trifectas—and the Knicks couldn’t recover.

Boston was scoring from deep in the fourth, going 8-of-13 to run away with the contest.

“They went to a very small lineup, and it did create some problems for us,” Coach Fish said. “But the momentum of the game had turned so much, and it was difficult for our guys to continue to put that fight out there. We’ll keep working and we’ll put together 48 minutes. We had a solid half, but we started to let the ballgame get away from us there.”

NEXT UP

New York (10-46) will stay on the road Friday night to take on the Detroit Pistons (23-34).

The Knicks are 0-2 against the Pistons so far this season, and will look to prevent their Eastern Conference rivals from clinching the season series.

Detroit has won six of its last 10 games, but is coming off a 102-93 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

RELATED LINKS

• Celtics rout Knicks 115-94 (AP, Feb. 25, 2015)
• Knicks at Celtics: Game Book (NBA.com, Feb. 25, 2015)
• Rebuilding Celtics trounce rebuilding Knicks (NY Daily News, Feb. 25, 2015)
• Carmelo Anthony trait Derek Fisher wants on his bench (NY Post, Feb. 26, 2015)
• Knicks rookie steps up after Fisher criticism (NY Post, Feb. 26, 2015)
• Fisher on Knicks loss: It got away from us in the third (MSG, Feb. 25, 2015)