After the Lakers game...so a little outdated after the trouncing last night. But of interest nonetheless.

Curry’s Development A Barometer For The Knicks.
New York Times
02-15-07.
By Howard Beck

Eddy Curry’s growth spurt as a player and the Knicks’ gradual revival have been in lockstep since the start of the season. It was only natural, then, that Curry’s latest feat secured a major milestone for his team and his coach.

Curry got the first game-winning basket of his N.B.A. career Tuesday night when he slammed Jamal Crawford’s perfect pass through the rim late at Staples Center. The Knicks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 107-106, and Coach Isiah Thomas got his 23rd victory — a number that Larry Brown did not reach until April 19 last year.

It was Thomas who installed Curry as his No. 1 scoring option and instilled in him a newfound confidence. Curry’s resounding dunk with 7.1 seconds left, though not a called play, was payback of sorts.

Over his first five seasons, Curry was rarely put in a position to carry a team or deliver a victory. The closest he came, he said, was a game-tying basket that he once scored for the Chicago Bulls in a game against the Knicks.

“It just feels so good to have a win,” Curry said. “It feels good to have 23 wins right now, especially after what we went through last year. We’re coming together at the right time.”

The Knicks went into Wednesday night’s game at Golden State with a chance to beat last season’s victory mark before heading into the All-Star Game break. A year ago, Curry was still battling his poor conditioning and Brown’s lack of faith in him.

This has been a season of firsts for Curry. He is on pace for career highs in scoring (19.7 points a game) and rebounding (7 a game), and is close to his career high in field-goal percentage at .584.

“He’s playing at such a high level; it’s not like he’s on a hot streak,” said Crawford, Curry’s closest friend on the team. “He’s only getting better and better.”

Crawford is the Knicks’ leader in game-winning baskets, but he happily gave up the chance on Tuesday, passing up a 3-point shot to hit Curry for the alley-oop dunk.

“I’m happy for him,” Crawford said. “He deserves it.”

It had not been the best of nights for Curry. Though he easily bullied the Lakers’ young center, Andrew Bynum, Curry picked up his fifth foul with 4 minutes 30 seconds to play and went to the bench. Channing Frye replaced Curry and played well over the next few minutes. Frye drew a charge on Lamar Odom (negating a layup), scored on a put-back and grabbed a defensive rebound as the Knicks took a 103-100 lead with 2:20 to play.

It was conceivable that Thomas might leave Curry on the bench for the duration. But, in another indication of Curry’s newfound status as a franchise player, Thomas sent him back in with 1:45 to play.

“I wanted him on the floor, because of the attention that he draws, and the things that he opens up in our perimeter,” Thomas said.

The move paid quick dividends. After Kobe Bryant hit two free throws to give the Lakers a 104-103 lead with 59.5 seconds left, the Knicks responded quickly, with David Lee feeding Curry for a layup. But Bryant hit a 19-footer to give the Lakers a 106-105 lead.

Then fate intervened. After Quentin Richardson missed a wide-open 3-pointer, Lee grabbed the rebound and dished the ball to Crawford on the perimeter. Crawford dribbled and drove a couple steps, drawing out Bynum, then fired the ball toward the right side of the rim, where Curry elevated for the dunk.

“I saw Bynum help,” Crawford said. “I knew he was going to be open. We didn’t even look at each other. We just knew.”

Thomas took Curry out for the final defensive possession, sending in the lanky Jared Jeffries to guard the inbounds pass. Thomas said he wanted more mobile players on the court. When Ronny Turiaf and Odom ran a screen-and-roll, Lee was able to switch and stay in front of Odom, who shot an air ball from 21 feet.

“It was the right call,” Thomas said. “If Curry would have been in the game, Odom probably would have walked down the lane and laid it up.”

Curry is the top scoring center in the Eastern Conference. His lack of defense probably kept him from being selected for this weekend’s All-Star Game. He has used the snub as added motivation, and has a permanent reminder across his chest. Last week, Curry had a new tattoo inscribed there, reading, “Bruised Never Broken.”

Referring to the All-Star snub, Curry said the tattoo was “not necessarily for that reason” and that he had been thinking about that phrase for some time.

“It seemed fitting to do it” now, he said, and being left off the team “really solidified it.”