During pregame introductions at last night's Knicks-Rockets game the loudest cheers went to four members of the Houston organization. First Jeff Van Gundy got a warm response from those in the crowd that could still remember the great teams the Goond ran from the sidelines. Duke apologists clapped it up for Shane Battier before a large chunk of the crowd lauded both Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. Hell, when they showed Rocket assistant Charlie Ward on the big screen during a timeout he got a warmer reception than the current Knick team has gotten all season. It was even greater than any cheer Ward got while he was running the point for our beloved Orange and Blue. The response to the Knicks, on the other hand, was that of a senile grandparent mumbling their hello while trying to place just who the young person in front of them was and why they should care. The usual suspects got the crowd into it as the game went on but it was the same old story and the bench couldn't overcome the superior talent on the Rockets leading to a 97-90 Knick loss.
That doesn't mean that the biggest highlight of the game was by Houston. No sir, that came when Lil' Nate vaulted high enough to reject a Yao layup attempt at the close of the third quarter. It lit up the crowd and led to a David Lee dunk but wasn't enough to spur the team to victory. Lee was superlative once again, defending Yao much better than Eddy Curry and scoring 15 points on a series of dunks and putbacks. He also grabbed 12 rebounds, eight of them offensive. He played much of the game alongside Channing Frye who potted a season-high 22 while the always lacking Curry watched from the bench next to the benched Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis. The starting backcourt was yanked from the game a minute into the second half after a pair of turnovers. Marbury and Isiah Thomas are often described as having a father-son relationship and Marbury responded to his overdue benching by acting like a petulant teen,
“It’s hard to play like that,” Marbury said of getting the quick hook. He had not committed a turnover in the Knicks’ previous three games, which perhaps made the decision all the more troubling. He said Thomas did not explain his decision, but noted: “The message is loud and clear. I’m not going to go on the court and play like that anymore. I got a turnover. I guess when I go on the floor I’ll be more conscious of getting a turnover.”
Thomas, for his part, once again bemoaned the lack of support from the Garden crowd. The boos, he said at his most Bush-like, embolden the opposition. Van Gundy, who was on the receiving end of more than one crowd-lashing, disagreed with his overmatched opponent,
"(We were booed) about every bad first quarter, every bad start," Van Gundy recalled. "As coach, it was great. He didn't always have to be the one who's the guy to get on your team. You can win seven in a row here, play an uninspired first quarter and (the crowd) didn't do inspired well. It's extremely helpful you didn't have to be the lone wolf challenging them."
There actually weren't more than a smattering of boos last night. They came in the early going when Marbury recklessly charged into a Houston defender and picked up a charge and they followed a few of Curry's bumbling forays into the paint, but for the most part the crowd remained apathetic to the latest Knick loss.
(Can't Stop The Bleeding has another, equally poor shot of Nate's astounding rejection.)
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