New Look, Old Story: Fast Start in Defeat
By LIZ ROBBINS
Published: January 7, 2004
LEVELAND, Jan. 6 — In the first 18 seconds of his Knicks career, Stephon Marbury collected a block by Dikembe Mutombo, took two explosive steps and fired a pass from halfcourt that hit Keith Van Horn in stride.
What tension? The Knicks were off and winging it, the new players thrown in with the old without so much as a practice or a glance at the playbook, running as if they ruled the playground against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Marbury first touched his Knicks uniform 20 minutes before tipoff when he learned he was cleared to play. He burst onto the court with refreshing energy.
But the instant bliss could last only so long.
Soon Marbury's bullet passes bounced off unsuspecting teammates' hands and out of bounds, the Knicks' rhythm dissolving along with their 9-point lead.
The Cavs pounced on the Knicks' helter-skelter game, racing to a 23-3 run in the second quarter that led to a 107-96 victory Tuesday at Gund Arena that spoiled Marbury's debut.
The Cavs improved to 11-23, with two victories over the Knicks this season. The Knicks (14-22) lost their third straight game.
"I wanted to win this game, really, and — my first game, but there's so many games to go," said Marbury, who was battling a chest cold and asked to come out after the first six minutes. "But right now we got to bog down and just learn each other. The game will come a lot easier to me next game."
The Knicks dropped to eight games below .500, however, giving more urgency to each game as they pursue the playoffs.
"It's not going to happen in one day," Allan Houston said. "But we don't have a lot of time for it to work."
Trailing by as many as 17, the Knicks made a late run, cutting the deficit to 7 points with just 47 seconds to play, but the Knicks could not finish. Marbury guarded James most of the night, playing 29 minutes and finishing with 8 points, on 3-of-9 shooting, and 8 assists. Van Horn led the team with 20 points.
James scored only 14 points. Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas killed the Knicks with 24 points, and forward Eric Williams added 22.
"It's going to take awhile before I know them, they know me and they know their teammates," Knicks Coach Don Chaney said. "It's not going to be an overnight thing."
The Knicks will return to Greenburgh, N.Y., for a practice before Thursday's game against Jeff Van Gundy's Rockets begins a five-game homestand.
"We're all going to click," Van Horn said. "With the talent level we have, we can get this thing going and get on a nice run."
When they got to the arena, the Knicks faced the prospect of dressing seven and a half players, as Chaney counted Frank Williams and his ailing groin as a fraction of himself. (Williams did not play.)
Knicks officials had asked Phoenix to accelerate the physical exams of their new players after Monday's eight-player trade. Antonio McDyess, Howard Eisley and Maciej Lampe landed in Phoenix late Tuesday afternoon, forcing the new Knicks, including Penny Hardaway and the 7-foot-2 center Cezary Trybanski, to sweat the clock before the 7 p.m. tipoff.
Hardaway and Marbury were itching to play. The two of them spent the summer in Los Angeles working out and pushing each other. Marbury said he was completely healed from his two ankle operations. Hardaway said he was healthy, too.
"The Knicks are getting a healthy Penny Hardaway instead of a worn down Penny Hardaway like I've been the last couple of years with the aches and pains," Hardaway said before the game, referring to his left knee surgery in 1997.
Chaney used Hardaway in two positions — shooting guard and small forward — and he finished with 6 points in 24 minutes.
Houston missed 12 of 18 shots, saying he was not used to being so open. Marbury was encouraged by what he saw.
"We got so many guys that can make plays, guys score in the post, guys get their shots off," Marbury said. "Keith, he's playing with so much confidence, he's making a lot of moves. He plays totally different from when I played with him."
The Knicks' new president, Isiah Thomas, was not here to witness the first loss since his trade, as he returned home to Indianapolis.
According to an Eastern Conference official, Thomas is interested in the Cavs' Darius Miles, a lanky, athletic forward who is James's best friend but has faded this season. Miles, who is a free agent next summer, had no points in 14 minutes. The official said Thomas had offered Williams and forward Othella Harrington in exchange. Miles earns $4.1 million this season.
Speculation around the league also had Thomas trading Van Horn to Portland for Rasheed Wallace, but the salaries do not match and the Blazers are not likely to take on the remaining $30 million and two years of Van Horn's contract.
With Thomas, however, the Knicks players no longer know what — or who — to expect. "I don't think we'll ever get the feeling he's done, ever," Houston said.
REBOUNDS
Cleveland's DAJUAN WAGNER played for the first time this season and scored 4 points.
