With Stephon Marbury still missing and after weeks of questioning his players' fortitude, coach Isiah Thomas finally found a fighter among the Knicks on Friday.
The only trouble was the fighter was not on the roster. He was Roy Jones Jr, who practiced with the Knicks as he prepares for his Jan. 19 bout against Felix Trinidad at Madison Square Garden.
While the 38-year-old Jones, who once played in a US Basketball League game the same day as a boxing match in 1996, cannot provide any real relief on the court for the Knicks, he at least provided a welcome distraction for the team and the news media for a day.
PHOTO: AP
Thomas and his players talkedeabout their special guest rather than the usual endless stream of queries over their ugly 8-20 start, Marbury's mysteriously long bereavement leave, grievances, lawsuits, Thomas' job security and protesting and booing fans. At times this season it has seemed that the only thing the Knicks had going for them was that there was always another negative story line around the corner to change the subject.
But after practice ran more than an hour longer than usual, Thomas was full of grins and one-liners. When he stepped into place for his interview session, he attracted reporters away from Zach Randolph as he fielded questions about being removed from the starting lineup in Wednesday's 110-96 loss at Orlando.
"I'm saving you, Zach," Thomas joked.
When Jones joined Thomas with the reporters, Thomas let out several hearty chuckles while going back and forth with the 1.8m Jones and giving him a hard time about his practice performance.
"He can't dunk, but he was good," Thomas said. "He's still got some hops. His jumper's sweet. He's got good rotation, good form. The only thing he can't do is he missed a couple of dunks. But he was over the rim hovering."
Jones wore a Knicks practice jersey with his name on the back, a feature even the actual Knicks' practice jerseys lack. He wore No. 4 because that is the round in which he said he would knock out Trinidad.
"Tell him don't hit me," Thomas joked about Jones. "I'm not quick enough to duck."
Thomas has not been quick enough to duck the jabs thrown at him and the Knicks, either. So it was certainly pleasant for him and his players to get a break from the chaos of a losing and embattled franchise. Guard Nate Robinson was especially grateful for the lighter atmosphere.
"I had a smile on my face the whole practice today," Robinson said. "When you're having fun, it goes a long way. My friend Brandon Roy, Portland's won 11 straight and they're having fun. That's the main thing he kept saying over and over again. They're having fun and they're playing together."
Jones suggested that the Knicks adopt his fighter's mentality.
"A great fighter is always thinking attack, attack, attack," Jones said. "Guard play is very similar to the mind-set of a boxer. If you attack, attack, attack, you don't give your opposition a chance to attack you as much."
While Jones practiced with the team, Marbury was still absent. And when the questions turned to basketball, Thomas' demeanor quickly transformed from bubbly to sour.
Marbury has missed nine of the Knicks' last 12 games while grieving the death of his father, who died Dec. 2 from a heart attack. On Thursday, the Knicks said Marbury told the team he would return after the start of the new year. Thomas would not provide any more information on Friday.
Thomas also declined to say who would start today when the Knicks play host to Chicago.
As usual with these Knicks, there were more questions than answers -- unless the questions were about Jones.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two