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Knicks game notes, taken live by InsideHoops.com during the Dec. 15, 2004 Pistons@Knicks game in Madison Square Garden. These notes are raw and unedited, and presented in the order they were taken.

PRE-GAME NOTES

Kurt Thomas is pounding the boards hard this season, and lately in particular. For the season, Thomas ranks 7th in the NBA in rebounds per game with 10.6.

Tim Thomas is off to a slow start this season. He's been inconsistent, and therefore isn't playing full-game minutes.

Nazr Mohammed is having the best season of his NBA career. For the season, he's averaging 12.5 points, 55.5% shooting (3rd best in NBA) and 9.5 rebounds (15th best in NBA) per game. And those numbers don't even do him justice, as he started slowly but over the last few weeks has picked things up in a big way. InsideHoops.com credits some of his improvement to Mark Aquirre, who works the center out regularly and teaches him how to operate down low.

Jamal Crawford is averaging 18.8 points, 3.9 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.45 steals per game. He's coming off of several great games in a row.

Stephon Marbury for the season is averaging 19.9 points, 8.7 assists (3rd best in NBA), 2.9 rebounds and 1.52 steals. He's shooting 85.0% from the free throw line.

The Knicks went 7-6 (7 wins, 6 losses) in November. It's the first season-starting, winning month they've had since going 9-6 in 2000-01.

Allan Houston returned for New York on December 10. He's still playing limited minutes and steadily working his way back into a bigger role on the team.

Through the first 21 games of the season, the Knicks have used the same starting lineup in every game. This is the first time a Knicks coach has been able to do that (no injuries) since Pat Riley did it for 25 straight games back in the 1991-92 season.

The Knicks are 7-2 in games where Stephon Marbury dished 10 or more assists.

The Knicks are 7th in the NBA in steals, averaging 8.3 per game.

Chauncey Billups (15.9 ppg) and Richard Hamilton (20.2 ppg) rank fourth among NBA backcourts with a combined scoring average of 36.1 ppg. They are behind Washingon's Gilbert Arenas and Larry Hughes (40.6 ppg), Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford (39.1 ppg), and Kobe Bryant and Chucky Atkins (37.4 ppg). Coming in fifth is Dwyane Wade and Eddie Jones (33.8 ppg).

Ben Wallace's #3 jersey ranks 10th among the NBA's most popular player jerseys based on sales at the NBA Store in New York and sales on NBA.com since the start of the 2004-05 season. This is the first time that Wallace's jersey has made the best-selling list. The Detroit Pistons as a team rank 10th among team merchandise sales.

On December 8, 2004, Pistons coach Larry Brown coached his 2,000th (NBA and ABA combined) professional game. Only Lenny Wilkens (2,468), Bill Fitch (2,050) and Don Nelson (2,028) have coached more games than Brown. Brown also ranks second in most combimed wins (1,172) and needs two wins to move into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time winningest NBA coaches list.

THE GAME

New York jumped to an early 13-8 lead with 6:46 left in the first quarter. Jamal Crawford has 6, Tim Thomas has 5.

Adam Sandler is in the building.

Crawford caught a pass in three-point range, and with Richard Hamilton in his face, launched himself up and shot. "No!" yelled a fan who didn't like the forced shot. Nothing but net, however.

Ben Wallace has his afro fully blown out. If the scoreboard atop Madison Square Garden was to fall, Wallace's hair would catch it and prevent other players from being hurt.

Crawford nails another three.

There's something very cool about Richard Hamilton's mid-range jumpers (which usually come after running in circles 90 times). Always has been. Kids in the schoolyard should emulate his offense.

Allan Houston came into the game at 2:18, first quarter. There was no real reaction from the fans.

LL Cool J is in the building.

Rasheed Wallace hits his second baseline turnaround jumper, again from the right side. "All day," yells a Pistons fan. Well, it might be all day if Detroit went to Rasheed consistently down low, but they don't.

Antonio McDyess entered the game with 55 seconds left in the quarter. Assorted Knicks fans booed him. No love.

With two seconds left in the quarter, Rasheed pulled up from three-point range at the right elbow and nailed it.

Jamal Crawford went 4-of-6 from three-point range in the first quarter.

End of first quarter: Knicks 28, Pistons 23.

The Knicks City Dancers came out in black tights and mostly-backless black belly-shirts with gold trim. Shake it, shake it. Don't break it, break it. That wasn't the song, that's just my advice. And shake it they did. Performance rating: 8.4 out of 10.

Scottie Pippen is in the building, in a suit, enjoying the game. Knicks fans booed him. Not a thunderstorm of boos or anything, but they did boo.

The Knicks are scrambling for an offensive rebound. Jerome Williams gets it right under the basket, fakes a few times, and blows a basically open layup. But New York kept possession, and the ball wound up in the hands of Allan Houston in three-point range at the top of the key. Nothing but net. Fans erupt. Knicks up, 33-27.

"Scottie Pippen sucks!!!" loudly yells a fan during a stoppage of play.

Ben Wallace's afro set a pick for Chauncey Billups, who hit a three over it.

Houston curls around a pick and fires a no-arc jumper from the top of the key - swish.

Jerome Williams and Antonio McDyess are having a battle of who has the higher socks. Right now it appears to be a tie, though JYD's socks may be saving their strength for the second half.

Go to Madison Square Garden gate 72 and sign up to win a chance at lunch with John Starks.

Crawford dumps the ball down to Houston, who was posting up. Houston gets it, faces the basket, fakes Ben Wallace (who had come over to help) off of his feet, banks in a jumper and draws the foul. Free throw is good. Houston has eight points and two rebounds in limited minutes.

Rip Hamilton with another quick, mid-range jumper. So sweet. He's rocking, tonight.

Marbury drives across the middle and dishes to Houston in three-point range. Houston nails it. Allan is putting on a show. The man can still shoot.

At 3:57, Knicks up 43-36, right after the above three by Houston, Lenny Wilkens took Houston out, replacing him with Tim Thomas.

Mohammed with a fade-away. He's a much better player, for a few weeks now, than before.

Rasheed misses two turnaround jumpers from the left side. Head back to the right side, maybe.

A few plays later, Rasheed got switched onto guarding Marbury, who flew past him like a rocket.

At the buzzer, Crawford nails a three, then hops onto the scorers table. Jon, a Knicks PR head, immediately gives him a tug to get down.

Halftime: Knicks 56 Pistons 40.

A minute into the third quarter, Tim Thomas fires a bad jumper that hits the rim and literally falls out of bounds without anyone touching it. Fans don't like it.

Detroit has stepped up its defense in the first two minutes of the quarter.

"Sweetney!" yells a fan.

Rasheed nails a mid-range J. At 8:41, the Pistons have scored eight in this quarter, while the Knicks have yet to score. It's Knicks 56 Pistons 48. Time out New York.

During the time-out, the Knicks City Dancers came out, now in white pants and blue glitter-tops. They shook it to the current LL Cool J hit. It was one of their weakest performances I've seen. Rating: 6.9 out of 10.

After the time-out, Sheed nails a three. Knicks up, 56-51. It's been four minutes now and no Knicks points.

Ben Wallace cuts, gets a pass, blows a catch-and-shoot layup.

Finally, at 7:24, Crawford gets fouled shooting a three-pointer and hits all three free throws.

At 6:34, Marbury drove on Billups, knocked Billups over, hit the layup, and the refs called a block on Billups and the continuation, giving Marbury a free throw. Horrible sequence if you're on the side of justice. Not bad at all if you're a Knicks fan.

Marbury sets up Kurt Thomas for a deep jumper from the top of the key. Knicks up, 66-55. After a shaky start, New York is alive again.

"It Takes Two" by Rob Base is still the best-ever song to play at an NBA game.

Rasheed has fans in the New York stands. Hey, that rhymes. Who am I, Walt Frazier?

It's easy to forget that Tayshaun Prince is in the game, sometimes. Even when he's contributing. It could just be that he's really skinny.

At 2:47, McDyess comes in for Rasheed. The Knicks respond by bringing in Jerome Williams for Kurt Thomas.

And, at the same time, Allan Houston comes in for Tim Thomas.

At 2:30, Crawford got the ball, ran 90 miles an hour down the middle, surprising everyone, and dishing outside to an open Marbury, who nails a three. The very next play, Crawford steals it from Lindsey Hunter.

A Pistons fast break led to a Ron Dupree two-handed dunk.

At 1:04, a technical foul was called on Marbury.

With 29 seconds go to in the third, Darvin Ham checked in. Ham immediately bumped into Jerome Williams a few times and then got called for a reach-in foul on another Knick.

Lindsey Hunter stole it from Houston and drove for a dunk.

End of third quarter: Knicks 73 Pistons 71.

The Knicks City Dancers came out, for their third performance. They're wearing the same outfits as in the second performance. The song is the Black Eyed Peas song about shaking that booty. Excellent performance: 8.9 out of 10.

At 10:54 the Pistons tied it, 73 all.

Jamal Crawford is awesome off the dribble. In general, I mean. Not just tonight.

Allan Houston is still in, playing small forward. He can get away with it against Prince and Detroit.

An enthusiastic young woman who has been cheering loudly for Detroit starts yelling her support even louder. "Detroit sucks!" yells a guy in her direction. He then adds, "People from Detroit suck!" A minute or so later, he offered some derogatory comments similar to the ones Latrell Sprewell just got suspended a game for.

At 8:24 the Knicks swing the ball around, don't get anywhere, fling it to Crawford who has to force a three-pointer. Swish. Knicks up, 82-77.

Prince scores. And next play, Houston hits a J in Prince's face.

Lindsey Hunter got knocked down and didn't receive a call. He wasn't pleased. A play later, he caught the ball in the corner, wide open. Three-pointer. Swish. Two-point game.

Next play, Hunter got taken out for Hamilton.

Also, Houston got taken out for Tim Thomas. Some fans boo Tim's entrance into the game.

Marbury, guarded by Hamilton, hits a J with Ham in his face. A lot of Knicks baskets are coming from tough, well-defended shots.

At 5:42 it's Knicks 86, Pistons 82.

After a Marbury miss, Tim Thomas got the loose offensive rebound, bum-rushed the rim and tried to cram it on Rasheed. No dice. Sheed got a hand on it, the dunk attempt missed, and Detroit got the ball.

A Pistons fast break resulted in a pass to Prince, who jumped while pretending to lose the ball (or maybe he did lose the ball) but it wound up being a bounce-pass to Rasheed for a layup. It was a sweet play.

During a 3:23 time-out, the Garden played a mix of "Whoomp, there it is!" and "Cotton-Eyed Joe." Good stuff. Then, House of Pain "Jump Around" was unleashed.

Just like the prodical son, I've returned. Anyone stepping to me, you'll get burned.

At 2:40 or so, Houston is back in, replacing Tim Thomas. Houston is the only non-starter for either team on the floor.

Crawford sets up Kurt Thomas for his patented baseline jumper, but it's a miss.

Hamilton works inside, but good Crawford defense makes him miss.

Houston catches-and-shoots from Marbury, and nails it. Fans are starting to love H-20 again.

Crawford steals Detroit's next possession. The Knicks are up four with 1:20 to go. Fans are on their feet. But then Houston coughs the ball up for no reason, resulting in a Pistons fast break and a Knicks foul.

Excellent game.

"Come on Detroit, do it!" yells the female Pistons fan. I like her spunk. Detroit scores, and she hops to her feet. The NBA needs more fans like this (cute, female, and enthusiastic).

Kurt Thomas boxed out Ben Wallace. Big-time box-out. A foul gets called on Big Ben. Fans erupt, cheering Kurt's Oakley-like hustle. Kurt hits the first free throw, misses the second. With 34 seconds left it's Knicks by three.

Right off the time-out, Hamilton drives like a maniac and hits a running layup. Knicks by one.

As the shot-clock is running down, Crawford, who took several subpar shots in the final minute and a half, is forced to fire a tough shot. It misses. Detroit gets the ball and runs. And with 2.6 seconds left, Chauncey BIllups hits the first free throw (for the tie) and the second (for the lead). Time-out New York, down by one, with 2.6 seconds left in the game.

A guy about three rows behind the cheering female Pistons fan throws an empty, plastic water bottle at her. I'm not kidding. It misses her. She didn't care, no one reacted. It was harmless. Don't get excited. But, I promise, I'm not making this up. Anyway, she kept right on cheering her squad.

Fans are on their feet as the final play begins. Kurt Thomas is inbounding. No Knick is free. New York calls another time-out.

The Garden always looks awesome when everyone is on their feet.

Kurt inbounces to Marbury who catches in three-point range, coughs it up, recovers, and flips a desperation shot that misses. Game over.

The female Pistons fan's name is Stephanie, I learn.

Although the Knicks lost, fans in the Garden enjoyed an exciting, fun game.

Final score: Pistons 94, Knicks 93.