LOS ANGELES – The Knicks were without gimpy Allan Houston last night against the Lakers, meaning they had to find a way to make up, oh, about 53 points.
The Knicks appeared destined for an 0-5 road trip. The Lakers were unbeaten at home (11-0) this season and hadn’t lost a regular-season home game since Houston dropped 53 points on them Feb. 16 last season. The Lakers had won 26 straight regular-season games at Staples Center, an L.A. franchise record.
Houston sat out his second straight game because his surgically repaired right knee was sore. He was expected to miss tonight’s western-trip finale in Utah.
“It’s hard to sit out this kind of game, but I don’t want to keep having one day where you feel good, one day where you feel bad, one day where you can practice, one day when you can’t,” Houston said. “It’s kind of wearing on me, so I’d rather just [come back] when I feel confident. I think sometimes I’ve even played this year thinking I was there but I really wasn’t.”
Chaney guaranteed to his players during a motivational speech Monday that they’d win last night if everyone “played to their strengths.” Yesterday, Chaney acknowledged the monumental task of breaking their four-game losing streak by beating the Lakers.
“When you go to war, you have to have guns and ammunition,” Chaney said. “So if they send you to war with sticks and knives, it’s going to be hard. But we can’t throw in the towel.”
Houston’s condition is worrisome because the decision to undergo arthroscopic surgery last June stems from what some believe is an arthritic knee condition, similar to Charlie Ward’s. Chaney said Houston’s pain “definitely won’t go away,” and the coach talked about limiting his minutes when he comes back.
Houston, who missed Saturday’s 104-92 loss to Golden State, backing out 10 minutes before tipoff, said, “It does feel better, but I know my body. I’m to the point in my career, even here in New York, that I know when to go and when not. It’s just not there yet.”
Houston had been an ironman entering this season; in seven Knicks seasons he missed 10 games. He said he feels he may have to change his mentality of playing hurt. By tonight, he’ll have missed five games this season, two due to a sore back. If he returns Saturday vs. the Nuggets at the Garden, he would’ve had one week off.
“I’m not young anymore,” Houston said. “I think sometimes two days can make a huge difference, you know, and hopefully this will be something that can rejuvenate me for the rest of the year.”
Houston’s 53-point night, after which owner James Dolan called Chaney on his cell phone to congratulate him on the nationally televised victory, was last season’s highlight.
“When people come to the Garden and have a good game, it’s special not because they had a good game, but it’s special because it’s at the Garden,” Houston said. “For me it was special because it was here [in L.A].
“It was at the Staples Center against the Lakers, so it was special for me. It caught a lot of people off guard. It didn’t catch me that much by surprise. I always believed you could have a big game but I never put a point total on it.”