Lenny Wilkens resigned as coach of the New York Knicks on Saturday, likely ending his Hall of Fame career after barely a year with his hometown team.
The 67-year-old Wilkens had two years and US$10 million left on his contract. The resignation, the first time Wilkens has stepped down or been fired during a season, followed a lengthy meeting with Isiah Thomas after the Knicks' last-second home loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday.
PHOTO: AFP
Wilkens is both the winningest and losingest coach in NBA history, going 1,332-1,155 in 32 seasons with Seattle, Portland, Cleveland, Atlanta, Toronto and New York. He won his lone NBA title with the SuperSonics in 1979 and coached the US to a gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Last season, Wilkens led the Knicks to their first playoff berth since 2001, going 23-19 after taking over the team following Don Chaney's firing. The Knicks were then swept by New Jersey in the first round.
A nine-time NBA All-Star in his 15-year playing career, Wilkens and John Wooden are the Hall of Fame members elected as both a player and coach. And in 1997, Wilkens -- a player-coach for four seasons in Seattle and Portland -- was the only man selected as both one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history and one of the 10 greatest coaches.
Wilkens, who starred at Boys High School in Brooklyn and was an All-America guard at Providence College, got his record 939th victory in early 1995 with Atlanta, passing former Boston coach Red Auerbach.
The Knicks have three games left on their four-game homestand -- Milwaukee, Phoenix and Cleveland -- before hitting the road for a six-game road trip that includes stops in Detroit, Sacramento and Phoenix. They will then return home to play Shaquille O'Neal and the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat. New York's 92-91 loss to Houston on Scott Padgett's off-balance jumper at the buzzer gave the Knicks nine losses in their last 10 games. The slide has dropped the Knicks into third place in the weak Atlantic Division with a record of 17-22.
Hedo Turkoglu scored 22 points, Dwight Howard added 21 and the short-handed Orlando Magic rallied to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 115-111 on Saturday.
The Magic, missing Grant Hill due to his bruised right wrist, trailed by six with 2:02 left to play after Allen Iverson's jumper.
Iverson finished with 38 points, his most since sitting out a game two weeks ago with an ankle sprain. Samuel Dalembert tied his career high with 24 points, and added a season-best 16 rebounds.
Jameer Nelson sparked the comeback with two steals, cashed in for three free throws, cutting the deficit to a point. Nelson had seven steals, one short of the franchise record, to go with his 12 points.
The Magic won despite tying a season worst with 12 missed free throws (35-for-47) and committing 22 turnovers -- but only one in the final 14 1/2 minutes.
Bulls 100, Pistons 89
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Kirk Hinrich had 24 points and nine assists as Detroit lost to Chicago at home for the second time in less than a month.
The Bulls hadn't won twice in Detroit in one season since 1995-1996. Eddy Curry added 15 for the Bulls before fouling out and Antonio Davis had 14.
Richard Hamilton led all scorers with 32, including 16 in the first quarter, but only scored seven in the second half. Hamilton was a game-time decision with a bruised right thigh.
The Pistons led 47-44 at the half but Chicago quickly went ahead after the intermission. The Bulls attacked the basket, including a spectacular dunk by Davis over Ben Wallace, and built a 68-60 lead.
Hawks 100, Celtics 96
In Atlanta, Al Harrington scored 21 points and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the last two minutes to help Atlanta overcome a 17-point deficit and beat Boston.
The Celtics have lost nine straight on the road.
Antoine Walker led the Hawks with 29 points against his former team. Rookie Josh Childress scored a career-high 19 points for Atlanta and hit a key 3-pointer that capped the Hawks' comeback with 3:27 remaining.
Allan Ray poured in 27 points, including 20 in the second half, as Villanova crushed second-ranked and previously-unbeaten Kansas, 83-62, at the Wachovia Center.
Curtis Sumpter chipped in 25 points for the Wildcats (10-4), who halted a two-game losing streak. Mike Nardi scored 11 points for Villanova, which shot 54 percent overall from the floor and connected on 12-of-19 shots from beyond the arc.
Wayne Simien paced the Jayhawks with 15 points. J.R. Giddens and Sasha Kaun had 11 points apiece for Kansas (14-1), which entered Saturday's action one of only four unbeaten teams left in Division I.
No. 3 Wake Forest 74,
No. 20 Cincinnati 70
In Cincinnati, Ohio, Eric Williams poured in a career-high 29 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Wake Forest to a hard-fought 74-70 win over Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena.
No. 4 Duke 88, Florida St. 56
In Tallahassee, Florida, J.J. Redick poured in 31 points and set a career-high by knocking down eight three-pointers as Duke cruised past Florida State 88-56 at Leon County Civic Center.
Shelden Williams chipped in 11 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, while Daniel Ewing tallied 14 points in the win. The Blue Devils (15-0, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) remain one of only three undefeated teams in the country.
No. 7 Syracuse 72, W Virginia 64
In Syracuse, New York, Hakim Warrick had a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead Syracuse to a 72-64 win over West Virginia at the Carrier Dome.
No. 9 Boston College 79,
St. John's 73
In New York, Jared Dudley scored 19 points and got eight rebounds to lead Boston College to a 79-73 win over St. John's at Carnesecca Arena.
Jermaine Watson added 16 points and Louis Hinnant had 12 points and six assists for the Eagles (16-0, 5-0 Big East), who remain one of three undefeated teams in the nation and continue the best start in school history.
Virginia Tech 70,
No. 12 Georgia Tech 69
In Atlanta, Georgia, Carlos Dixon scored 21 points, including the go-ahead layup with 35 seconds remaining, as Virginia Tech upset No. 12 Georgia Tech 70-69 in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
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