A day after being returned to the Knicks' starting lineup because of Jamal Crawford's injured big toe, Allan Houston was happy to be there but tentative about how many minutes he could play.
Houston is filling in for Crawford, the team's shooting guard and second-leading scorer who sprained his right big toe Wednesday during a loss to the Boston Celtics. He is expected to miss three to six weeks.
"I didn't expect it to happen this way and to happen this soon," Houston said about his start against Charlotte on Sunday, his first in eight months. "But I'm ready."
While Crawford was in the team's training room Friday, Houston stretched his quadriceps under the basket for a few minutes before walking off the court at the Knicks' practice facility with his arms tightly crossed. When asked about his oft-injured knees, he smiled and said they felt great.
Houston had planned to ease back into playing more minutes after being out for eight months with knee problems, but now he has no choice. After playing in only eight games -- and averaging only 19.6 minutes -- he will start for the first time since March 26. He said he expected to stay on the court much longer than he has recently.
And for the first time this season, Crawford will watch a game from the bench.
"It is a big blow," said Stephon Marbury, the only Knick who has scored more than Crawford this season. "But it's kind of like Allan wanted to play more. It kind of worked out better for him."
Crawford wore a short, soft boot on his aching right foot Friday. He said his big toe was swollen, even after icing, electrical stimulation and ultrasound. With a glum look on his face, Crawford could not say when he thought he would return. He said the team, which has lost two consecutive games, would do fine without him.
"I think the best thing about this team is the depth," Crawford said. "It will be good for Allan. He will get a lot of court time."
Coach Lenny Wilkens said he would monitor Houston closely, adding that he will take him out if he becomes tired or if his knees begin to ache.
There are a few players who could step into Houston's spot if he needs to rest or cannot finish the game. Penny Hardaway, who has been on the injured list with a strained right hamstring, is not one of them.
Hardaway practiced Friday, but he did not do any full-court work. He said he hoped to be back within two weeks. "For the most part, I can tell I'm not really ready right now," he said.
Wilkens said that he would practice Trevor Ariza, a rookie swingman, and Tim Thomas, the starting small forward, at the shooting guard position and that they could replace Houston if he needs to come out. "Everything is a possibility," Wilkens said.
The Knicks' practice went late Friday, because Wilkens wanted to to prepare for the Bobcats.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but