Knicks-Bulls
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Yet this was different. Concerned his wife was in trouble, the New York Knicks forward reached her in the seats but remained calm, never took a swing at anybody and willingly walked away when security arrived. Still the scene evoked memories of last season's brawl between fans and Pacers players in Detroit and overshadowed a thrilling finish to a wild game. Ben Gordon hit a jumper at the buzzer and scored 32 points Wednesday night to give the Chicago Bullsa 106-104 overtime victory over the Knicks. Davis later explained why he climbed into the seats during a timeout in overtime. ``I witnessed my wife being threatened by a man that I learned later to be intoxicated,'' Davis said in a statement issued after the game. ``I saw him touch her, and I know I should not have acted the way I did, but I would have felt terrible if I didn't react. There was no time to call security. It happened too quickly.'' Davis ascended about 10 rows of seats to reach his wife. There was no physical confrontation after he got there, but several people were pointing and shouting for a few moments before security arrived. Davis, president of the NBA players' association, returned to the bench and took his seat before being ejected with 1:04 left. United Center security remained in the stands for a few minutes more, where other fans appeared to be explaining what they had seen. Guards in suits and yellow jackets then escorted a group of people from the area. Knicks coach Larry Brown said Davis went into the stands because he saw his wife ``falling back.'' Brown was coaching the Pistons during the November 2004 brawl in Detroit. A black eye for the NBA, the fight led to criminal charges and lengthy suspensions for Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson. But Brown was adamant that this situation should be viewed differently. ``Come on, that's his wife,'' Brown said. ``That's entirely different. I was worried about Kendra. That's why he went in the stands, he saw her falling back. ``That thing that happened in the stands had nothing to do with the two teams. That's a man concerned about his family.'' No arrests had been made as of late Wednesday night, police said. Gordon hit his winning shot after New York's Jamal Crawford tied it at 104 with a 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left. After a timeout, Gordon caught the inbounds pass near the top of the key and hit a jumper over Trevor Ariza. New York's Maurice Taylor and Chicago's Chris Duhon also were ejected after a scuffle in overtime, a few minutes before Davis went into the stands. ``He took care of family first,'' Taylor said. ``He's got his wife and young kids up there.'' Asked about Davis' demeanor in the locker room after the game, Taylor said: ``He was upset, but he was clear headed. Everyone watches where their family is.'' A few minutes before Davis went into the stands, Taylor ran across the lane and knocked down Duhon, who got up and shoved Taylor. That resulted in a double technical, and the two were soon ejected. ``He set a screen on me,'' Taylor said. ``I got the foul. It's basketball. Whatever he wanted to do after that was to his judgment.'' Duhon called it a ``cheap shot.'' ``I don't think he made any basketball move to get around me,'' he said. Gordon hit 14 of 28 shots, none bigger than the last one. He missed a shot at the end of regulation, but converted in overtime after taking the inbounds pass from Kirk Hinrich. Gordon, who grew up just north of New York City in Mount Vernon, also beat the Knicks with a buzzer-beater at Madison Square Garden last season on Martin Luther King Day. Hinrich finished with 18 points, eight assists, eight rebounds and three steals, while Andres Nocioni and Darius Songaila scored 14 apiece. Crawford led the Knicks with 19 points, while Quentin Richardson added 17. Stephon Marbury sat out with a sprained left shoulder, ending a streak of 280 consecutive games played. Davis, who used to play for the Bulls, had 16 points and nine rebounds, but Eddy Curry struggled in his homecoming. He finished with 11 points and four rebounds in his first game against Chicago and missed the final seven-plus minutes of regulation after colliding with Gordon. The Bulls were ahead 102-99 after Songaila hit two free throws with 51.1 seconds left in overtime. Crawford went 2-of-3 from the line after being fouled by Andres Nocioni to make it a one-point game. After Nocioni converted two foul shots with 8.3 seconds left, Crawford's 3 tied it at 104. |
Bucks-Knicks
Stephon Marbury did his best to lift the struggling Knicks, but New York couldn't stop Mo Williams and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Marbury had 23 points and 12 assists for the Knicks in a 113-108 loss to the Bucks on Friday night, one game after he didn't hit a shot from the field and was criticized by coach Larry Brown.
``Everybody's trying to do what they can to win,'' Marbury said. ``No one is out there playing to lose, everyone is trying to contribute as far as playing defense, playing smart, playing together.''
Williams scored 30 points and Michael Redd added 22 to lead Milwaukee.
``Mo played tonight the way he's played all year,'' Bucks coach Terry Stotts said. ``Scoring 30 points on 17 shots is pretty effective, efficient.''
Williams, staring at point guard while T.J. Ford misses two weeks with a sprained foot, led the Bucks' dynamic backcourt as Milwaukee improved to 14-1 when scoring more than 100 points.
``I average 15, so I feel I have to score a little bit,'' Williams said. ``With T.J. out, I just have to find my places.''
Bobby Simmons had 18 points and Jamaal Magloire added 15 for the Bucks.
The Knicks dropped to 7-21 - matching their worst start since 1986-87 - and fell into last place in the Atlantic Division, percentage points behind Toronto (8-22).
``I've spoken to you after 28 games, and there was one game I was disappointed and I said that,'' Brown told reporters after the loss. ``Everybody makes a big deal (about it), I coached him for the next two days just like I always coached him. He's done what I asked and tries to win the game.''
Maurice Taylor scored 18 points, Channing Frye added 15 and Eddy Curry had 12 for the Knicks. But Taylor picked up his fifth foul with 7:36 left, and the Knicks were in the penalty with 5:03 remaining after Curry also picked up his fifth.
Williams, who finished 11-of-17 from the field with six rebounds and five assists, was the catalyst when Milwaukee took the lead just before the start of the fourth on a 9-0 run.
``Mo has more of a scorer's mentality - more of a 3-point shooter,'' Redd said. ``T.J. is more of a penetrator, a creator. They both bring a little something different to the table.''
New York, which went on a 4-minute stretch without a field goal early in the fourth, cut the Bucks' lead to 97-96 after Nate Robinson, who finished with 19 points, hit a 3-pointer and added two free throws.
Simmons answered with a fadeaway jumper and added a breakaway dunk. Then Williams scored on another fast break layup after a turnover by Jamal Crawford to give Milwaukee a 103-96 lead with 2:09 left. The Knicks never had the ball with a chance to tie after that.
``I was awful down the stretch,'' Crawford said. ``I missed two free throws, a 3-pointer and threw the ball away. That was uncharacteristic of me.''
Before the game, Brown said the situation with Marbury wasn't an issue. He was critical of his point guard after the Knicks' loss Wednesday to the Orlando Magic for not being aggressive enough.
Marbury finished that game with five points and was 0-for-7 from the field, but Brown said general manager Isiah Thomas hasn't asked about the dynamic and emotional playmaker.
``If it was a big thing for him, I'm sure he would address that,'' Brown said.
Marbury, who shot 7-of-15 from the field and was 9-of-10 from the free throw line, began to play frantically just before the half, first finding David Lee for a dunk for his ninth assist.
On the next possession, he called for the ball, turned it over in traffic and raced back down to strip Jermaine Jackson at the other end.
After Dan Gadzuric tipped a ball to a wide open Redd under the basket to cut the Knicks' lead to 57-54 with 1 second left, Marbury barely missed a 41-foot shot at the halftime buzzer.
