With 21 games remaining in the 2008-09 season, the New York Knicks hurt their playoff chances by losing to the Charlotte Bobcats at home, 114-105 on Saturday night.

The Bobcats, on a franchise high six-game winning streak, are only one game out of the 8th seed, currently being held by the Chicago Bulls.  The Knicks are three games back of the eight spot.

"It is a skill to play hard and we have to either acquire the skill or learn how to do it, or something but we did not come out like a playoff game like this really meant the season more or less," said Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni. "It doesn't but we should have had that attitude."

Charlotte held off a potential fourth quarter comeback, as New York got within six with just over a minute to play in the game. The Knicks, however, could not make it happen. Boris Diaw, who played for D'Antoni during his time with the Phoenix Suns, hit a key 3-pointer down the stretch to seal the win. Diaw finished with 22 points.

"Every game right now matters a lot and the fact that they [are] right in there matters even more," said David Lee, who finished shy of his customary double-double with only 10 points and 7 rebounds. "It's like losing two games. They get a win and we get a loss. It's frustrating all around."

Lee's double-double streak ended at 24 consecutive games, which is the second longest streak in franchise history.

New York's defense was once again suspect, allowing the Bobcats to shoot over 55 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc. Gerald Wallace led the Bobcats with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. Raja Bell, another former player of D'Antoni's, chipped in 17 points, while Raymond Felton added 19 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds.

"They are a team that won six and a row and there's a reason for that," said Lee. "I think we need to stop thinking that because it's Charlotte, you know, you look in the past and their record has been bad but they're playing great basketball and we didn't play well enough tonight."

Nate Robinson provided a spark early in the game, but flamed out with a poor shooting performance. He added 20 points, but it came on 5-of-15 shooting from the field. The Knicks trailed by 10 when he entered the game with over five minutes to play in the first quarter. However, by the end of the quarter the Knicks were within one.

"I didn't think [Robinson] played great, he didn't shoot but his energy was fine," D'Antoni said after the game. "We just didn't have the effort we needed today."

The Knicks hop over the Hudson River to begin a five-game road trip against the Nets on Sunday. The Nets are another team that stands in the Knicks' way of the last seed in the Eastern Conference. They are a game and a half ahead of New York.

The Bobcats have off until Tuesday when they travel to San Antonio to play the Spurs.