Knicks on a tailspin

NEW YORK CITY — It was an unusual start for a National Basketball Association (NBA) game. The tipoff was scheduled at 1 p.m. last Saturday–a strange hour for a weekend because it cut straight into your daytime program.

A steady downpour drenched the Big Apple and downtown traffic crawled to a snail’s pace. The temperature dropped to the low 30s. If you were out on the streets and didn’t wear gloves, your hands would numb with the cold. If you didn’t wear an extra layer of clothing, you’d stiffen like a frozen popsicle.

Then there were the New York Knicks otherwise known as the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. They got off to a 1-7 start this season and only the winless Memphis Grizzlies had a worse record. The Knicks shamelessly built a dubious reputation as the league’s top chokers–they’d been outscored by an average of about nine points in the fourth period.

Knicks diehards point to injured star Antonio McDyess’ absence as the reason for the club’s tailspin. Blame Latrell Sprewell, too, because he injured his hand in a mysterious offseason accident and sat out the first eight games of the campaign.

In five home games, the Knicks sold out only twice. Fans expressed their displeasure by staying away from the Garden. But last Saturday, they were back in full force. A packed house welcomed Sprewell’s season debut. Never mind the afternoon chores. Never mind the rain. Never mind the freezing weather. Never mind the Knicks’ ineptitude.

Of course,Allen Iverson had something to do with the sellout. He blew into town with his supporting cast of Philadelphia 76ers fresh from a 99-94 win over the San Antonio Spurs last Thursday and looked to prolong the Knicks’agony.

The celebrities showed up for photo-ops. Actor John Lithgow sat in a center front row seat, easily the best in the building. Burt Young, who portrayed Paulie in the "Rocky" series, came. So did Lou Gossett, Jr., rapper JA Rule, and former New York Yankee Paul O’Neill.

I was lucky the NBA provided tickets for the game. I wouldn’t have been able to afford a ticket–$210 apiece–and besides, the place was sold out.

As expected, Sprewell didn’t start the game. He checked in with three minutes left in the first period. The day before, New York Post columnist Mike Vaccarro urged Knicks fans to go to the Garden and shower Sprewell with a crescendo of boos to register their disgust over his antics. Sprewell, who is as notorious as he is a talented basketball player, has been on the trading block for weeks but New York coach Don Chaney hasn’t found a single taker. There were reports that Phoenix was interested in acquiring Sprewell and Kurt Thomas for Penny Hardaway and that Chicago would offer Jalen Rose for P. J. Carlesimo’s worst nightmare. Neither deal, however, has taken off.

Seven NBA scouts were at the Garden to watch Sprewell, obviously to evaluate his value as trade bait. Denver Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe sat beside NBA Entertainment president Adam Silver at courtside.

During a second quarter timeout, the fans were treated to a minor miracle when a hometown bus driver Keith Bishop banked in a two-handed, midcourt shot to bag a $1 million prize. At least, it was something to cheer about.

As the first half ended, Sprewell sank a fastbreak layup and game officials consulted a slow-motion replay to determine if the shot was released within time–an innovation this season. It didn’t take more than a minute to resolve the issue. Sprewell’s shot pulled the Knicks to within five at the turn.

For a while, it looked the Knicks would rise to the occasion as they opened a nine-point lead with 8:04 left in the fourth period. But typically, coach Don Chaney’s boys disintegrated down the stretch. A sequence of unforgivable errors led to the collapse. First, Thomas was called for a body block to screen off Brian Skinner as Sprewell soared for a dunk in transition. Sprewell’s shot was nullified and Thomas picked up the foul plus a technical.

Then, as time wound down to 1:52, Knicks forward Michael Doleac was slapped a flagrant foul for smacking Iverson on the way to the hoop. Iverson hit both charities to knot the count, 89-all. Because of the flagrant, the Sixers got back possession and Keith Van Horn scored on a putback to push the visitors on top, 91-89. With 12.5 seconds to go, the Sixers held a three-point lead and the Knicks gambled on a three-point shot to stay alive. Alas, Howard Eisley’s shot didn’t find the net and Van Horn grabbed the rebound to ice the contest.

Sixers coach Larry Brown clearly outwitted Chaney in the battle of the brains. Brown attacked where the Knicks were weakest–in the middle. Without a low-post threat and an intimidator under the boards, the Knicks were badly mauled inside the paint. The rebounding stats proved it–the Sixers took 44 rebounds to the Knicks’ 39.

Big man Todd MacCullough and Iverson paced the Sixers with 17 points apiece. Former San Miguel import Art Long played sparingly, netting two points in five minutes. Van Horn, who used to play for the New Jersey Nets, shot 15 points and hauled in 12 rebounds.

Memphis let go of coach Sidney Lowe after a lowly 0-8 start and general manager Jerry West brought in Hubie Brown, 69, to replace him. New York should take the cue. Chaney has outlived his usefulness on the Knicks bench. He can’t seem to motivate his players to extend themselves with the game on the line.

New York fans deserve better than Chaney. They braved the rains and biting cold last Saturday only to be rewarded with another fourth period collapse and a loss that should’ve been a win, if only Chaney knew what he was doing.