(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

We deserved this. After striking distance from .500 was squandered in sloppy losses to teams like Milwaukee, Minnesota, and Indiana, we Knick fans deserved a feel-good win. This one felt good, indeed, as Wilson Chandler spearheaded a hard-fought effort on both ends. Wil's career-high 31 points and 8 rebounds helped New York overtake the champs at home for the first time in six meetings. Some notes:

- I missed the first half eating dinner with my grandparents, but the Knicks seem to have started pretty well. They lead after the first and were down only three at half. The opening offense came mostly from Al Harrington and Wilson Chandler. The two combined for 31 in the first half, while the rest of the team generally floundered (including an unfathomable 1-12 in the half by Quentin Richardson). It was hard-nosed play by the bigs and pesky ballhawking by the guards that kept New York in it at intermission.

- In the third quarter, Chandler took over. He gave Kevin Garnett as much of a headache as you can give the reigning defensive player of the year. Wil nailed pull-ups, attacked the rim, and drew contact to befuddle Garnett for 15 third-quarter points.

- Even in the fourth, when the shots stopped falling, the Knicks showed some of that long-dormant spark to grab loose balls and play passing lanes. It was a refreshing sight, and it didn't hurt that the Celts' three-point efforts vaguely resembled a romp of otters trying to play Jenga. (I've got a gift for metaphor, I know). 6-25 didn't help their case. 9 of those misses, too, were Ray Allen's 0-9 from three on a night when he was otherwise 7-9.

- Clyde returns, Knicks win. Just saying.

- Mike D'Antoni rolled the dice by matching either Jared Jeffries or Al Harrington with Rajon Rondo, and it's hard to argue the results. Rondo was only 1-7 from the field, had only 3 assists, and looked off all night. The big guys were clearly instructed to let Rondo shoot, and it worked to perfection. This allowed Jared and Al to back off and either double or clog the lane, providing David Lee with some much-needed help around the basket. Mike D'Antoni: defensive mastermind?

- I mentioned very early on in the season that Nate Robinson added some ear tugs to his free throw routine, and tonight we learned why. See, in Bad Boys 2, (an underrated movie, if you ask me. Seriously.) Martin Lawrence tugs on his ears to calm himself down. And you know the age-old Buddhist maxim, don't you? "Do as Martin Lawrence does in Bad Boys 2, and you shall do no wrong". I recite that every morning.

- In another Knicks/movies revelation, Mike Breen shared that David Lee's favorite actor is Kevin Spacey, his favorite actress is Julia Roberts, and his favorite meal is steak and potatoes. From this I deduced that Dave's ideal date would be Applebee's followed by a K-PAX and Mona Lisa Smile double feature. Oh, and he had 14 and 14, for those of you more interested in basketball than mediocre movies in which Kevin Spacey plays an alien.

- The "Olé, olé, olé, olé" chant playing over the PA system is a little forced. Not a fan.

- Though he literally couldn't hit the broad side of a barn tonight (I actually took him outside for an attempt, and he hit the roof), Quentin Richardson did manage to do what he does best: annoy Paul Pierce. Not that he got under his skin and affected his play or anything. Pierce was awesome. Q did manage to get some subtle hip checks and hushed profanities in though, and for that we thank him. Can't wait for the post-game posturing and spite.

- Maybe because I'm used to watching a team that needs every win it can get, I was a little surprised to see Doc Rivers throw in the towel with 1:30 remaining in the game. The Knicks were up 12 when he sat the Big Three for good, but crazier things have happened. I guess when you're a championship contender, you cut your losses and stay focused on long-term goals. I wouldn't know.

And that is all, good citizens. The Knicks kick off a west coast trip Tuesday with what "should" be a win in Oklahoma City. Until then, I'm happy to bask in the warmth of this most satisfying victory over the despicable Celtics. Great night.

It's always tough to recap heartbreak and I've got a puppy on my lap that bites my fingers every time I type, so forgive me if this one's a tad short. After being kept at arm's length for three quarters, the Knicks came back to take the lead late in the fourth last night, only to have exploding  the Garden crowd silenced by Jarrett Jack's late-game heroics. The score reached a balance early, and rarely wavered very far. The difference stuck between about 6 and 10 for much of the night, with Indy unable to put it out of reach and the Knicks lacking the firepower to break through. That is, until crunch time, when some improved defense and timely shooting put the Knicks up 5. From then on, the contest became the one thing that both teams dread: a close one. Both teams have struggled down the stretch this year, but only one could lose. And it was the Knicks. Some misadventures under the basket and mishandling of the ball allowed the Pacers to overcome the small lead and take a three-point advantage. Wilson Chandler's magnificent and-one drive to the rim tied it, but a dagger of a jumper by Jack, who'd been lights-out all night, gave Indy the edge and the win with fractions of a second left. A few other notes:

- David Lee played himself a monster game against a very capable frontline (including his doppelganger, Jeff Foster). 26 points on 12-15 shooting alongside 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 steals make me scoff at these rumors.

- And I haven't even mentioned the best part:

That'll be one steal, one guard-like dribbling move, and one dunk from a step inside the free-throw line in your scorecard. Like the nasally psychologist in last year's MSG commercials, I LOVE David Lee. (Tip to TKB again).

- Kelly Tripucka was recovering from food poisoning last night, and came very close to describing its symptoms on-air. Mike Breen saved us from the details, but appeared to have some intimate familiarity with KT's problems.

- Throughout the first half and much of the third, one of the main problems was something we've seen all year: miscommunication on switches. It seems like every time a pick is set, the man guarding the screener (often Lee) "shows" and then freezes at the top of the key, leaving a big man, in this case Foster or Murphy, rolling open to the basket. And you can forget help defense in that scenario. Who's gonna come block a shot- Jared Jeffries?

- Actually, yes. Despite offensive play that would fit the diagnostic criteria for some cognitive disabilities, Jared was downright effective on defense. He had trouble sticking with bigger men one-on-one, but did a nice job turning away slashers at the rim. I don't know that he deserves kudos, so to speak, but how about like half a kudo?

- Kevin James was Jill Martin's "Gimme a Minute" interview, and after his Christmas Day appearance L.A., several dozen Paul Blart: Mall Cop ads, and this interview, I can safely say that Kevin James has overstayed his visit in the spotlight. I wouldnt say I want him to be imprisoned, but is there any other option?

At least his hat doesn't sa-- Oh god, it does. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

- Al Trautwig noted a rather strange occurrence that I still don't understand: Roy Hibbert absolutely dominated the Knick frontline in the first quarter, then hardly saw another minute of playing time. They say it might have something to do with stamina, but sheesh.

- When he feels he's been wrongly accused of a foul, Jeff Foster makes a sound that very closely resembles the cry of a wounded osprey.

- Al Harrington's first half presented more than a couple head-scratchers, but he made up for it by leading the comeback in the third and fourth. Overall 27 points (10-21) and 6 boards is very nice.

- Wilson Chandler's experiencing a recurrence of what can only be described as Stage II Channing Frye Syndrome (CFS). Every time he touches the ball, you can see the gears going. Wil overthinks every pass and shot, and really only seems in rhythm when he drives to the hole. It comes and goes, but once again I'd like to suggest that Chandler quit hesitating, trust his instincts, and play some basketball. Boy needs to get out of his own head.

- Chris Duhon: 6 points (2-7), 7 assists, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 6 turnovers, and 5 fouls. I wouldn't say he played "well", but he certainly had an impact.

- Jarrett Jack's one of my favorite NBA players (he's like Stephon Marbury with a mild disposition), and I'd be remiss not to applaud 29 points on 10-14 shooting, including four three-pointers and the game-winner with 0.9 remaining. Asshole. I love that guy. Douchebag.

Well, this one came down to which team would have the last run and overcome their losing ways in close games. Undermanned and a tad sloppy (did I mention 21 turnovers? I guess I didn't), the Knicks just weren't that team. Sitting at 12-19 and going into a difficult Sunday matchup with the Celtics, that sucks quite a bit. Oh well. Enjoy your Saturday.

Good afternoon, amigos. The Knicks are down 6 straight, and face demon-coach and the Bobcats this evening. This will likely be another (the last) game that I miss, and hopefully somebody can recap if its not too grisly. In the meantime, some things worth looking at:

- A look at the Knicks' hope at avoiding the dreaded "vortex of suck". Summary: it could be worse. We could be demon-coach and the Bobcats.

- Tommy Dee lets us know that Chong Williams has been demoted to the D-League. The Knicks need this guy real quick.

- Why? This is why.

-The new "Knicks notebook" includes kind words from George Karl and a lefty three-point contest between Nate Robinson and Allan Houston.

- Mike D'Antoni wants Al Harrington to smile. I say he's gotta take that slimy-ass mouthguard out first.

That's it for now. Your 'Cats thread will be up in a little. Love y'all.

In lieu of fundamental defense, Tim Thomas resorts to grinding up on the fallen Richard Jefferson. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Not all losses are created equal. There are two-point losses in L.A. where you say "look at these Knicks, trying to compete with the Lakers! Those little upstart punks are really something!". And then there are ones like tonight, that just don't tickle your fancy quite as much. Returning to the Garden after a five-game road trip, the Knicks laid a big, fat egg against the Bucks. With their third straight big victory over New York, Milwaukee seems to have stepped in as the Knicks' unicorn this season (damn right that was a Gone In 60 Seconds reference). We'll recap this one quickly.

- Al Harrington arrived late because of traffic on the Hutch, and his shooting was sorely missed in the beginning of the game (it's also possible that he would've been cold and exacerbated the problem, but whatever). The Knicks simply couldn't hit an outside shot. I can't say for sure, but I'm pretty sure New York didn't connect on a single jumper in the first quarter, and fell behind 24-15 after 12 minutes.

- Harrington made his return, and in the second quarter lead a rampage to bring the Knicks within 4. But after Nate Robinson threw away a bad pass, the Bucks came the other way and hit Michael Redd for a wide-open three. They never looked back.

- That was actually one of two plays Nate made that directly set up a Milwaukee three-point attempt. Another was a ferocious rejection of Charlie Bell that, alas, went straight into the hands of Tyronn Lue, who hit an uncontested three.

- Speaking of Lue, when did he learn to hit fallaways like Kobe Bryant?

- Nate's defense on the other end was pretty solid (at least in the first half, when I was paying attention). He fought hard over picks on Luke Ridnour, but the Knick big men weren't really in sync. Lee kept switching off of the pick-setter anyway, which left a big man open cutting to the basket.

- Milwaukee's best weapon against the Knicks seems to be their ability to clog the paint. Duhon can beat his man off the dribble, but once he gets into the key, everybody collapses and makes him look pretty bad. Both guards had quite a bit of trouble feeding cutters because of Milwaukee's handsy, and they were forced to either turn the ball over or kick the ball out to New York's terribly cold three-point shooters. (23 turnovers, 7-21 from downtown. Not good). I guess Scott Skiles' coaching is good for something.*

*Scott Skiles' coaching is, in fact, not good for anything. Scott Skiles is an abomination of coaching, the NBA, mankind, and sentient beings in general.

- I feel for the guy, but I've gotta single out Duhon a little more. He's either a big-time perfectionist or, well, a big-time pansy. The guy just won't take an open shot. Nor will he challenge anyone at the basket. I love the idea of a "pass-first" point guard, but if Du never makes a play at the rim, defenders stay on their feet and it becomes very difficult for him to throw assists. Tonight's five turnovers for Duhon (and another 5 for Lee on the receiving end) exemplify that issue. Chris had his first points in the third, which just doesn't cut it.

- Tim Thomas didn't play the second half because of an upset stomach. I nearly didn't either, for the very same reason.

- Kenny Albert, son of Marv, called this one for the Knicks. He's got a nice baritone like his father's, but, given tonight's results, I hope he never, ever picks up a Knicks Gamenight microphone ever again.

- At halftime, Albert read the announcement that the Knicks were offering disabled seating for those "disabled through Ticketmaster". Now, I know that the "through Ticketmaster" clause applies to the ticket offer, but what if it didn't? How might one be injured through Ticketmaster? Could they have clicked so ferociously for Nickelback seats that they were somehow paralyzed? I need answers.

- Another lovely Kenny Albert moment was when, after an MSG apparel pitch, he asked Walt Frazier, "Clyde, have you purchased your Knicks hoodie yet?", to which Clyde condescendingly chortled, "Not yet". The day they make hoodies out of 100% alpaca is the day when Walt Frazier wears a hoodie. Until then, not a chance.

- I've been home for a couple days, which means my dog gets to watch games with me again. She came in around the third quarter, looked at the screen, looked at me, coughed, and left the room.

- Jerome James made a long appearance in garbage time, and made it clear that he could have actually been useful in this one. A nice alternative to the failing pick-and-roll would be to simply post up a big man, but, of course, D'Antoni didn't have anyone even remotely big enough to post up Andrew Bogut. Except for Snacks. I'm only half-kidding.

- D-Lee looks a little sunburnt. Looks like somebody stayed an extra day in Los Angeles, eh?

Jokes aside, tonight sucked a whole lot. It was easy to call, if you've been around here long. Just when the Knicks show that sign that they're turning the corner, they put in a sloppy, careless effort and drop one they should've won. Hopefully, it's just that the Bucks have our number, and after the upcoming setback in Boston, the Knicks will be back on their way to .500. Hopefully.

I'll be travelling out west tomorrow, and will very likely be needing help on recaps for the week ahead. I'll get a post up formally begging for your assistance, but please do consider it in the meantime. Peace.

(AP Photo/Paul Connors)

"Live by the three, die by the three", they say. Well, the Knicks almost escaped a death by the three-pointer last night, nearly coming back to beat the Suns in Phoenix, despite 5-37 shooting from downtown. Read that again. 5-37. That's good for 13.5%. That kind of shooting to the Knicks down double digits pretty early, and while the longballs never really started falling, New York asserted themselves in the second half to cut it close. It took a few lucky breaks for Phoenix (Stoudemire nailing a shot-clock beating three, Jason Richardson's miss late in the clock falling directly into Stoudemire's hands) and some untimely misses by the Knicks to let this one slip away. A few notes:

- Mike D'Antoni got a very warm standing ovation from the Phoenix crowd, which was cut short by the blackout starting lineup introductions for the Suns. It's really nice to see how much love they've still got for him, though.

- Al Harrington and Tim Thomas, who'd been hot for a few games, finally hit their respective walls last night. Despite shooting poorly, though, Harrington had himself a nice game. He got his ugly three-pointers up, sure, but after that made a concerted effort to attack the basket and get to the free-throw line, where he was 6-6. It's great to see Al make a big contribution even on a night when the shots aren't falling. He finished with 24 points on 8-22 shooting.

- Shaq and Amare are pretty much impossible covers for the Knick big men, but credit both Lee and Chandler (who, by the way, had 15 points and a bunch of rebounds apiece) with using their fouls wisely. Both fouled out, but not in vain. 

- That Hack-a-Shaq method wasn't working so hot, though. The Big Diesel, whose free throw attempts closely resemble a porpoise trying to draw curtains with its flippers (Please don't ask me why I've seen that before. It's a dark era of my life.), manage to drop 11 of his 18 free throws, and was especially accurate down the stretch.

- The Knicks' defense for the Suns' pick-and-roll was a little odd, and I wish someone could get video of this. Basically, Amare would set a pick on Nash's man, which was usually Nate Robinson, and Nate wouldn't even make an effort to fight over the screen. Instead he'd switch to Amare, and then quickly switch again with whoever was defending behind the perimeter. Thus, you'd have Nate on a perimeter player (usually the bigger Richardson or Hill), Duhon or QRich on Amare (not much of an improvement if you ask me) and Harrington or Tim Thomas guarding Nash. This happened maybe a dozen times. That's gotta mean that Nate was instructed to go under the screen, and I trust that D'Antoni's got a good idea of how to defend the Nash-Amare pick-and-roll that he pioneered. I just don't see how Nate switching on every possession works. If he forced himself over at least some of those picks, they'd avoid mismatches, and possibly draw Stoudemire into a few moving screen calls. Again, D'Antoni knows these guys better than any of us do, but it didn't make much sense to me.

- Danilo Gallinari update: Il Gallo's got himself a nice, thin beard. He's also a proponent of the "tap the shoulder then hide" method of annoying Malik Rose during timeouts, as seen in the second quarter.

- Let's talk about those three-point numbers. I know it hurts. The thing is, only some of them were bad shots. Harrington, Thomas, and Chandler got some ugly-ass attempts up, but for the most part it was just players missing shots they'd usually hit. Nate shot an unseemly 1-10, while Al and Tim were each 2-8, and everybody else was 0-11. If anything, I'm a little impressed that the Knicks could stick with the Suns until crunch time even when they missed nearly every open shot from downtown. Some nights the shots just don't fall, but New York nearly stole one anyway.

- Besides my qualms with his defense and those terrible shooting numbers, Nate was probably the single force that kept the Knicks in this one. For stretches, he seemed like the only Knick with a pulse, and was hell-bent on getting to the rim, where Duhon was a more than a bit tentative. While Du seemed content to drive and kick in the face of Phoenix's twin towers, Nate wouldn't settle, and repeatedly knifed his way to the rim for acrobatic buckets. When outside shots aren't falling, I'll take Nate's style over Du's every time.

So, D'Antoni's return to Phoenix didn't turn out so great. The Knicks hung tough, though, and nearly robbed the Suns despite one of the ugliest shooting performances in the history of hands, leather balls, and metal rims. The bad news is they've got an encore performance tonight in L.A., where they'll face the West's best team in an arena where they rarely lose. Some news and game thread coming later.

Hey y'all. We've got a late start tonight, so I figured I'd throw some links in the meantime.

- Reggie Theus has been fired, and TKB points out that this is the second coached booted after a loss to the Knicks.

- Knickerblogger, looking ahead, notes that the Suns' big men could have as much trouble guarding the pick and roll as the Knicks' big men do protecting the basket.

- "Expect the Knicks to come out gunning and to tempt the Suns into a shoot out that only Terry Porter can hope to stop." If I heard that sentence a year ago, I'd be scratching my head pretty hard.

- Al Harrington became the first Knick this season to get Eastern Conference player of the week honors. He's also the first to be knighted and canonized in the same week. Praise Saint Al.

- Via TrueHoop, an update on how Mardy Collins is faring in Los Angeles:

There are some unfortunate and inescapable truths about Mardy Collins, and they can be seen in numbers like these: In his nine games as a Los Angeles Clipper, Collins has taken 29 shot attempts from the floor.  Only ten of them have been successful, while 13 of the 29 haven’t drawn iron.  Despite his anemic offensive skill set, Collins isn’t shy about trying to create shots for himself, and that hurts his team, because airballs have this way of producing really good opportunities for the other side.

Same old Mardy.

D'Antoni's return to Phoenix tips off at 9, and your game thread will be up before then. Eat a nutritious dinner and I'll see you later.

The Knicks started hot, weathered a comeback, and finished strong to beat the lowly Kings in Sacramento last night. Once again, Al Harrington played like an absolute legend, putting up 33 points on 11-20 shooting, including 5 threes. His presence was particularly important in the late third quarter, when the Knicks had squandered most of a 29 point lead. With the gap cut to 12, Al came alive for 11 straight points to end the quarter, and put the game out of reach for good. A few other notes:

- Clyde's jacket last night appeared to be made of actual cheetah fur. Better yet, Mike Breen's tie looked like it was leopard print. Coincidence? Doubtful.

- Besides wearing a flashy tie, Mike Breen gave every impression that he'd had a few shots before the game. He called Spencer Hawes "Steven", Reggie Theus "Reggie Lewis", and pronounced "holiday" as "Hollywood". He also threw up all over the broadcast booth and told Clyde he loved him.

- Wilson Chandler drove in for a dunk in the first quarter and instead of blocking him, fouling him, punching him in the balls, yelling at him, or even pantsing him, Brad Miller just stood there. He had a couple seconds to react, and he literally stood still and watched as Chandler dunked over him. The Kings were not very lively last night. Especially not in the first half.

- Speaking of which, Wilson's a beast of a dunker and gets up pretty damn high. He's gotta stop trying to finesse around people and just go up strong.

- Since Sacramento is as close to Seattle as we get these days, we got a nice look at Nate Robinson's family members in the audience. One guy was wearing a Knicks #4 jersey turned backwards so we could see that the name had been personalized as "NATES COUSIN". I've been in touch with the Knicks organization and several different media outlets, and my sources tell me that was Nate's cousin.

- Cheers to David Lee for 17 points and 19 rebounds with a back that's probably still sore. He made you forget that Sacto had two or more 7-footers on the floor for most of the game. The frontcourt as a whole did a nice job forcing Miller and Hawes to either score from outside or put the ball on the floor, and neither of those two ever got into the flow of the game.

- Al Harrington and Shelden Williams got a bit tangled up and had some words in the second half. I was worried that it would escalate and get physical, if only for fear that they would somehow accidentally conceive a child in the process, thereby producing the most aesthetically appalling human being on the face of the earth. (If you're wondering, by my calculations Shelden would carry the baby.)

- More cheers to Nate Robinson, for a crisp 19 points on 8-15 shooting. He started in place of the ill Quentin Richardson, and was incredibly active throughout the night. Gr8 to have N8 back.

- If you let the Knicks shoot 13-27 from downtown and 15-21 from the line, you will lose pretty consistently.

- Biggest story of the night: JEROME! Big Snacks made a surprise appearance in the late fourth, and did not disappoint. He had a couple points and rebounds in 4 minutes, and we got to see him gallop up and down the floor with that big smile of his, the Knick bench cheering him on the whole way. Gotta love his reaction too:

“These guys know how much I love the game," said James, who made his first appearance of the season and first since Jan. 21 last season. "The know how disappointed I’ve been that I don’t quite fit this system. But they know I still want to play. It’s what we all live for . . . So my teammates saw there was an opportunity for me to get in and they championed it. I appreciate the guys having my back like that because I definitely have their back. You see me every game, I’m cheering for them, I’m hype. I’m living through them. So when I get out there, I’m happy they’re doing that for me too.”

It's truly great to have that kind of playfulness and camaraderie back in New York, and happy players make for big wins. Solid D, timely scoring, and great shooting got it done in Sacramento. The Knicks did what they should've against a lesser opponent. Now things get tough with back-to-back games in Phoenix and L.A. Peace.

(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

This is the type of thing we haven't seen from the Knicks in years past. After being completely embarassed by Lucious Harris and the Nets in the first quarter, the Knicks changed up their style, asserted themselves on both ends, and willed their way to a win. Some notes:

- Lucious Harris looks as young as ever in his return to the Nets. He was getting to the basket at will and hitting step-backs over whoever the Knicks threw at him, as well as hitting the Net big men with gorgeous passes to the basket. Later on, though, the Knicks managed to force him away from the basket a little, and capitalized when Keyon Dooling replaced him off the bench.

- Mucho credit goes to Al Harrington and Tim Thomas, the two New Jersey natives who really stepped it up last night. Harrington played like Jesus Christ, Mohammed, and Hannukah Harry all rolled into one last night. He had his outside shot going, but did us one better by taking it to the hole and getting fouled for 15-16 from the charity stripe. Maybe he's realizing that he's quick for a man his size, and has the speed to beat big men, with the size to beat frailer defenders. 13 rebounds are another sign of his hard-fought night. Absolutely phenomenal game, and he would've had 40 if he wasn't being teased while he shot free throws in garbage time. Tim Thomas had 26 points of his own off the bench, and got to the line 6 times.

- As a team, the Knicks connected from the stripe 32 of 35 times. Compared to 10-17 for the Nets, that's fantastic. That kind of aggression can win the Knicks games against better teams when the threes aren't falling (9-26 last night isn't terrible, but not great).

- Wilson Chandler must've been deeply affected by my post yesterday, because he looked much more patient and relaxed with the ball in his hands, and boy did it pay off. 24 points on 10-12 shooting, including one back-breaking four-point play down the stretch, along with 9 rebounds, was exactly what we needed from Wil.

- David Lee had 10 points and was pretty animated throughout the night, but took a hard fall when he landed on top of Vince Carter, and left the game with a bruised back. No reason to believe he won't be fine.

- Chris Duhon didn't have his shot going (2-9) but provided a solid 10 and 10, while doing his darndest to hang with the reincarnated Lucious Harris. More interesting, though, were the unsual ten full minutes he got on the bench. During this stretch (mostly in the second and third quarters), D'Antoni had Jeffries bring the ball up (not good for the heart, but it worked), and then instituted a sort of drive-and-kick halfcourt offense. Harrington, Chandler and Thomas would either beat their men off the dribble or kick it out to one another for three-point attempts. It was an oddly huge lineup for this Knicks squad, but it did seem to work. Particularly when guys are committed to getting to the basket, New York may be able to live without Duhon for stretches. It was definitely better than the total standstill that occurs when Anthony Roberson's handling the ball.

- The ref's signal for offensive basket interference is making a circle with the pointer and thumb of one hand and then tracing around it with the pointer finger of the other hand. Like this:

Does that make anybody else giggly?

- One side note is that, as mentioned below in the Fanshots, Cuttino Mobley has announced his retirement. While we we'll miss what Mobley could've contributed, this does open up a roster spot and give Donnie Walsh a little room to work. It remains to be seen whether he'll try to turn this into a 2-for-1 deal for Marbury, or whether he'll just get out and sign another point guard or a defensive big man off the waiver wire or the NBDL. Many have pointed out that Dee Brown was released from Washington yesterday. He could be an option to back up Duhon, at least while Nate is injured.

That's all for the moment. The Knicks head out west this weekend, and will be in Sacramento on Saturday. Hopefully Al Harrington is still playing like an immortal God-warrior, and the Knicks can keep up the effort against the Kings. Peace.

You know the story. After a tough loss in Atlanta, downtrodden and tired, the Knicks returned home and--won wire-to-wire against a much better team? What? Indeed, New York dispatched the Pistons with gusto yesterday afternoon. In fact, if it weren't for a full-scale collapse in the third and fourth quarters, tonight's game might've been as much a blowout as last January's Knicks-Pistons matchup in New York.

In the first half, Chris Duhon relocated his mojo, and worked the screen and roll with all his friends to lead by as many as 29 at one point. The Pistons couldn't open shots, and on defense, cared not to chase Du around the key or close out on Harrington and Q behind the arc. The Knicks also got a slew of foul calls, and seemingly every 50/50 loose ball went their way, which was a product of their simply trying harder than Detroit. Their problem was compounded by Rip Hamilton getting himself ejected for a blatant, childish shove of Jared Jeffries after a foul call.

In the second half, things got ugly. New York put up just 39 points in the final two quarters while Tayshaun Prine summoned the doubble consonnant sqquad- Walter Herrmann and Arron Afflalo- to help in his crusade to spoil my day. Luckily, a couple timely threes from Wilson Chandler and Quentin Richardson, as well as some unfathomable Piston misses on wide-open attempts saved this one for the good guys.

With Nate Robinson back2rehab, the Knicks once again played seven guys. Tim Thomas and Jared Jeffries played twentyish relatively unproductive minutes each, meaning the starters got quite a bit of court time. Check out some of these lines:

That's pretty heroic output from every starter. Duhon played the entire damn game! It's impressive, but Du's probably breathing a sigh of relief at these rumors that Donnie Walsh is ready to use his trade exception from the Renaldo Balkman deal (whatever that is) to dig up a bench guard (via The Knicks Blog). For one game, though, the undermanned lineup really held its own. Tomorrow night's matchup is in Chicago with the Bulls. We'll talk before then.

Don Nelson will see this in his sleep. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

I wasn't gonna watch this one. I popped MSG on to catch a bit of the first quarter before I left the house, but things got crazy. Two and a half hours later, I was looking back at a record-setting game that was exactly the kind of matchup you'd expect from two of the league's fastest teams. If you missed, you missed the Knicks setting a couple team and individual records en route to an offensive extravaganza. Let's recap:

- 82 points in the first half. 43 in the second quarter alone. Both are Knick records at MSG. 138 for the game ain't too shabby either. How, you ask, do the Knicks manage those numbers? Well, one factor was hot three-point shooting. As a team, New York was 13-27 from downtown. Another was the Warriors' utter ineptitude on defense. I don't think I've ever seen such bad help. Chris Duhon and David Lee ran the pick-and-roll to death tonight, and Golden State didn't do anything to stop it. It's like they'd never seen one before. The closest the Dubs got to stopping Duhon's antics was a zone defense, and even that fell apart as soon as someone got into the paint.

- I miss Jamal Crawford. I really do. He's such a nice guy, and such a captivating player. MSG played a nice tribute for him, and he got a very warm ovation from the crowd. Good to see.

- On the other hand, Jamal went 6-20 for 21 points, 10 boards, and 5 assists in his return. The side dishes are nice, but I'll trade that shooting any night.

- I'll especially trade it when I'm getting 13-25 (including 5-7 from three) for 36 points and 12 boards from Al Harrington. He was a bully, too, beasting over smaller folks in the paint and finishing ferociously around the rim. Guess he had something to prove.

- Speaking of Harrington's abusing people, this may be the only team the Knicks will face in which they have size mismatches in their favor. Quentin Richardson, for instance, got to back down guys like Crawford and Marco Bellinelli, while Harrington saw time against the shorter Corey Maggette. Credit Duhon with spotting these mismatches and feeding the post when he saw fit.

- Kelly Tripucka needs to stop calling Wilson Chandler "Tyson".

- Chris Duhon set the Knick record for assists in a game with an unbelievable 22 dimes (breaking the record set by Richie Guerin in 1958), and just ran the show this evening. He cut into the paint and got anything he wanted, partly because the Warriors' post defense was sound asleep, and party because he and David Lee are starting to click very nicely. Around half of Du's assists came on routine pick and rolls, hitting Lee or Harrington for easy dunks. He was fantastic out there, and I'll take a 22 to 3 assist-to-turnover ratio any night.

- Your other Knick of the night is Mr. David Lee, who put up Dwight Howard numbers (and actually out-performed Howard himself tonight) and became the first Knick to log 30 and 20 since Patrick Ewing in 1994. 37 points (16-29) and 21 rebounds set a pair of career highs for D-Lee, and as Coach D noted, Lee could've been looking at 50 if it weren't for a few bad rolls and some foul trouble. Unbelievable nights for Harrington, Duhon, and Lee, and fantastic chemistry between all three of them.

- Do they purposely seat hot girls behind the coaches? I swear, anytime networks show a shot of a coach pacing the sideline, I find myself fixated on some hotties in the background. Maybe I just have low standards.

- Jill Martin's "Gimme a Minute" halftime interview was with Fat Joe, who proclaimed that the Knicks were "number one in the world". Listen, Fat- can I call you Fat?- I love the optimism. It's great to see that celebrities are sticking with the Knicks. But that's just false. The Knicks aren't number one in the world in anything. Except for maybe sexual harassment allegations and DePaul alumni. Maybe that's what he was talking about. Maybe Fat Joe comes to Knick games not for the basketball, but rather in hopes of seeing some sexual harassment.

- In the second quarter, Tim Thomas absolutely thrashed C.J. Watson's shot off the backboard. In the third quarter, David Lee threw an alley-oop to himself on the fast break. In the fourth, Thomas backed down Anthony Randolph and then dunked quite forcefully on his head. Highlights for all.

- If Anthony Roberson got two more points, then all 7 guys who stepped on the floor would've scored in double figures.

- All in all, it was a fast-paced, defense-free battle between two of the team's top offensive squads. What made the difference? I'll say point guard play. The Knicks had Chris Duhon to run the show and get everybody else easy looks. The Warriors had, well, Jamal Crawford, which isn't bad, but as we know, doesn't always win you games.

Anyway, surprisingly exciting game, and it was good to see a few different guys break out big time. The schedule gets tough going forward, but the Knicks sit at .500 for now, and all is well. I'm heading back to school tomorrow, so we'll talk later on. Peace.