New York Knicks Blog – Page 80 – NBA Blog

Raymond Felton out 4-6 weeks with fractured pinkie

Will the Knicks ever get healthy and whole?

Raymond Felton, the team’s starting point guard, said last night he has a fracture in his right pinkie, discovered following an X-ray. He added he will likely need surgery and be out four to six weeks.

Bah, humbug. Carmelo Anthony also missed last night’s 99-97 victor y over the Suns with a hyperextended knee suffered during Tuesday’s loss to the Lakers, but his injury doesn’t appear serious.

The timing of Felton’s latest injury is tough considering Amar’e Stoudemire is expected back on Jan. 1 and Iman Shumpert is gearing up to return later in the month. Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni will now be the point guards.

Felton took the X-ray of his shooting hand at halftime after sitting out last night. He injured the pinkie fighting for a loose ball with the Lakers’ Steve Nash. Felton will fly to New York tomorrow and see a hand specialist to confirm the next course of action, a Knicks official said.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Knicks guard Raymond Felton sprains finger

Because of his toughness, guard Raymond Felton can’t be counted out for Wednesday night’s game against the Suns in Phoenix. But even he admitted after spraining his right pinkie on his shooting hand that if he plays he is likely to be limited by the injury.

“I ain’t the same with it,” he said of the injury. “We’ll see what happens.”

With a little less than nine minutes to go in the third quarter of Tuesday’s 100-94 loss to the Lakers, Felton and L.A.’s Steve Nash both dove for a loose ball. Felton said Nash tried to tap it away while he tried to corral it and the ball bent the finger outward.

He came out of the game and returned with it bandaged. He finished with 10 points on 5-for-19 shooting and six assists. He was 1-for-10 shooting after the injury. He left with a splint on the finger.

— Reported by Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News

Stoudemire calls January 1 return a possibility

Injured forward Amar’e Stoudemire could be back on the court for the New York Knicks on New Year’s Day.

There are indications from Stoudemire that he could see his first action on Jan. 1 against Portland in Madison Square Garden. He called that date “a possibility” when asked when he would make his season debut, according to Newsday.

The veteran forward is working his way back from a knee injury.

— Reported by the Sports Xchange

Lakers beat Knicks to get to .500

The pieces of the puzzle that have been the Lakers’ confounding season so far are starting to fall into place.

Kobe Bryant engineered a second-half comeback, the defense stepped up, and Los Angeles beat the New York Knicks 100-94 on Tuesday, extending its winning streak to five games.

”We’re .500,” a smiling Dwight Howard said. ”We did it on Christmas, too. I knew this day would come.”

Bryant scored 34 points in his NBA-record 15th Christmas Day game and Metta World Peace added 20 points and seven rebounds while defending Carmelo Anthony, whose 34 points led the Knicks. Anthony said he hyperextended his left knee, but expects to play on Wednesday in Phoenix.

Bryant, the league’s leading scorer, has topped 30 or more points in nine straight games…

The Lakers improved to 14-14 – 9-9 under new coach Mike D’Antoni – and upped their holiday record to 21-18, including 13-9 at home. They returned to .500 for the first time since they were 8-8 on Nov. 30…

The Knicks controlled most of the game behind Anthony and J.R. Smith, who had 24 points. But they struggled offensively in the fourth, when Anthony was limited to seven points and Smith had five as the Lakers’ defense clamped down. World Peace fouled out with 1:58 to play and the Lakers ahead by four…

Nash had 16 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in his second game in nearly two months. He missed 24 straight games while recovering from a small fracture in his lower left leg. Howard had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Gasol had 13 points and eight rebounds…

World Peace scored 16 points in the second quarter, including eight in a row, when the Lakers played catch-up most of the way. His 3-pointer gave the Lakers their first lead of the period with 1:10 remaining. Smith tied it up with a free throw before Nash’s jumper sent the Lakers into halftime leading 51-49.

— Reported by Beth Harris of the Associated Press

Melo shines in 4th quarter, helps Knicks beat Timberwolves

Carmelo Anthony scored 19 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, rallying the New York Knicks to a 94-91 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night.

New York trailed from the opening minutes until Anthony scored eight straight points down the stretch. He had scored just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting in the first half, but had the final 12 for the Knicks to give them a 4-2 finish on their six-game homestand.

J.R. Smith added 19 points and Tyson Chandler had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who will fly to Los Angeles later Sunday for their Christmas Day game against the Lakers.

Nikola Pekovic had 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who played without star forward Kevin Love because of an eye injury. Alexey Shved added 18 points for Minnesota.

Love was poked in the eye late in the Wolves’ 99-93 victory over Oklahoma City on Thursday and didn’t travel with the team to New York. They nearly pulled it out without him, leading almost the entire night before falling for the third time in four games…

Even with Love out and Ricky Rubio still on a minutes restriction in his return from major knee surgery, Minnesota led 29-22 after one and never gave up the lead in the half, even when the Knicks seemed to be putting together some momentum…

Knicks coach Mike Woodson seemed to rule Amare Stoudemire out of the road trip, saying he thought it would be best to have the forward practice against his teammates when they get back before he plays. But Marcus Camby, who has been sidelined by a sore left foot and has barely played this season, said he will be ready to play Tuesday.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Melo, 3 others ejected as Bulls beat Knicks

Bottled up by the Bulls and baffled by the officials, Carmelo Anthony expected to spend the final minutes of the Knicks’ loss alone in the locker room.

Turns out the early exodus of Knicks was just beginning.

Coach Mike Woodson and center Tyson Chandler were also ejected from the foul-filled game, and Chicago beat New York for the second time this season, 110-106 on Friday night.

Chandler and Bulls counterpart Joakim Noah were tossed after a fourth-quarter altercation, shortly after Woodson had been ejected following his second technical. He drew a loud ovation during his walk to the back from Knicks fans who angrily booed the officiating for much of the second half…

Luol Deng had season highs of 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls despite briefly leaving the game with an injured left shoulder. Marco Belinelli added 22 points as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games.

Anthony finished with 29 points on 10-of-25 shooting, ending his streak of four straight 30-point games. The Knicks lost for the second time in three home games after winning their first 10.

Noah finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in completely outplaying Chandler, who took only one shot and was limited to five points and eight boards…

Kirk Hinrich had 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Bulls, who were totally shutting the Knicks down until allowing 45 mostly meaningless points in the fourth quarter after Chicago had led by 25 in the third…

[J.R.] Smith had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who fell to 19-7. Their 19 wins through 25 games was bettered only twice in franchise history, when they were 23-2 in 1969-70 and 20-5 in 1972-73. They won the NBA title both times.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Amar`e Stoudemire not 100 percent healthy yet

Amar’e Stoudemire talked big and bold about returning to his “dominant self’’ this season.

“Without a doubt. I’m on pace to return back to dominance,’’ Stoudemire said. “It’s a matter of becoming 100 percent. When I’m healthy, I feel I’ll be back to my dominant self.’’

After participating in his second practice with their D-League squad from Erie Thursday, Stoudemire still couldn’t put a finger on when he will strap on his goggles for real.

Stoudemire said he’s still not “100 percent’’ and not ready to return on the Knicks homestand ending Sunday against the Timberwolves.

Stoudemire said he still has “a little bit of soreness’’ in his left knee but felt smoother yesterday than Tuesday’s practice debut.

“I’m not quite ready yet,’’ Stoudemire said. “I’m taking a little more time to get 100 percent. Hopefully I’ll be back soon enough. I just know I need a little more time. I’m not totally there yet.”

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Rapper Fat Joe admits evading taxes, may face jail time

Rap star “Fat Joe” faces up to two years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to failing to pay taxes on nearly $3 million in income over two years.

The performer, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, entered the plea in federal court in New Jersey because some of the companies he earns money from are incorporated there.

The 42-year-old Miami Beach, Fla., resident entered pleas to two counts covering years 2007 and 2008 but his sentencing will take into consideration the government’s initial allegation that he failed to pay income taxes for years 2007 through 2010.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Return of Jeremy Lin is highest-rated Knicks game on MSG

Jeremy Lin is still must-see TV in New York.

Lin’s first trip back to New York since signing with the Houston Rockets resulted in MSG Network’s highest-rated Knicks game of the season, according to the network.

The Rockets’ 109-96 victory Monday drew a 4.77 rating, MSG said Tuesday. That’s well above the 3.41 average rating for the first 18 games of the season.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Knicks briefly assign Stoudemire, Copeland and White to D-League

The New York Knicks today assigned Amar’e Stoudemire, Chris Copeland and James White to the Erie BayHawks, the Knicks’ NBA Development League affiliate.

Copeland (6-8, 225, Colorado) joins the BayHawks having played in 14 games for the Knicks this season, averaging 5.7 points and 8.0 minutes.

White (6-7, 215, Cincinnati) has appeared in 18 games for the Knicks this season, averaging 1.8 points and 6.6 minutes.

All three players are expected to practice with the BayHawks at MSG Training Center in Greenburgh, N.Y. today.

It seems like this is just for practice purposes. All three players may be called back up to the Knicks in a day or so.