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Knicks pound Pistons behind McGrady at the point
Could Tracy McGrady be the answer for the Knicks at point guard?
Making his first start of the season there Wednesday night, McGrady had perhaps his most complete game since coming to New York at the trading deadline. McGrady put up 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as the Knicks snapped a six-game home losing streak by routing Detroit 128-104 at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks (21-39) won for just the second time in 12 outings, while the Pistons (21-40) dropped their fifth straight. The Knicks foundered with Chris Duhon at the point for much of the season and then briefly experimented with both Nate Robinson and Sergio Rodiguez. Now McGrady says he's ready to run the show if called upon. "Oh yeah, oh yeah," he said. "I have the skills to play that position. Coach put the ball in my hands and I'm able to [disseminate] the ball, I'm able to see over my defenders, make plays for my teammates. It creates problems for the other team. I like the lineup." In addition to putting McGrady at the point, Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni inserted the 6-foot-6 Bill Walker and the 6-foot-9 Al Harrington into his "big" starting lineup. Walker started over Rodriguez, and Harrington got the start in place of Wilson Chandler, who missed his second straight game for personal reasons. The move paid immediate dividends as Harrington scored 26 points, making 6 of 8 from beyond the arc, and Walker hit for a career-high 22 points, including six crowd-pleasing dunks. David Lee added 21 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists. McGrady has asked out of several games this season because his surgically repaired left knee felt balky, but he said it "felt fine" before this game. With McGrady playing 34-plus minutes, the Knicks' starters piled up 105 points. Four Knicks eclipsed the 20-point mark for the first time since Feb. 20, 2009. The Knicks seized a 67-55 halftime lead behind a combined 39 points from McGrady, Harrington and Walker. After the Knicks led by as many as 14 points in the second half, Detroit cut it to 80-75 on a put-back dunk by Jason Maxiell late in the third. But New York went on a 7-3 mini-spurt to push the lead back to 90-78. New York outscored Detroit 34-19 in the fourth. The Pistons played without center Ben Wallace, who hurt his right knee in Tuesday's home loss to Boston. Detroit coach John Kuester said he would be "very surprised" if Wallace played before next week. Without Wallace, Rodney Stuckey remained the only Piston to appear in every game this season. Two nights after scoring a career-high 21 in a blowout loss at Cleveland, Walker again eclipsed his career high with a breakaway two-handed dunk on a pass from Lee in the final seconds. "I always thought I could play on this type of level," Walker said. "It just took a while for me to get the opportunity. I went through what I went through in Boston and learned the little things, being a good teammate, and playing for other guys, stuff like that. It prepared me to actually step in and be ready." Said D'Antoni: "He's obviously athletic. He knows how to play. He's got a nice feel for the game. … I'm pretty excited about what I've seen." Walker and McGrady probably couldn't have imagined they would be starting together as Knicks when they squared off during last year's preseason. Walker, then a rookie with the Celtics, got physical with McGrady (then with Houston) while driving the lane on a couple of plays, and McGrady responded in kind. "Next time he came down the lane I shot him an elbow and knocked him on his ass," McGrady said. Walker jokingly said he asked for an apology after joining McGrady on the Knicks. "He quickly refused it and explained to me how he felt about it," Walker said. "We had a truce. I won't foul him in practice if he doesn't foul me."