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The worst part about the New York Knicks' loss to the Utah Jazz last Tuesday night at the Delta Center isn't that they lost by a whopping 24 points or that they gave up 39 points in the first quarter or even that they trailed by as much as 32 points in the game.

The worst part is that they probably expected to lose the game the whole time.

With 8:50 left in the opening quarter, the game was still competitive with the Jazz holding a slight 12-10 lead.

But after a few free throws by Utah, Tim Thomas had his shot blocked by Andrei Kirilenko. On the ensuing possession, Kirilenko worked his way inside of Thomas for a tip-in bucket. Thomas missed his next jump hook shot, Carlos Boozer made a lay up and then Thomas missed another hook shot.

After two more buckets by Kirilenko, the last a three-point play after another foul by Thomas, the Jazz were up 23-10 and the game was all but over.

This time, Thomas can take the blame. But what about the 43 losses that the Knicks took last year as the highest paid team in the league? Or the 45 the year before? Or the 52 the year before that?

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