Jonathan Bender admits Friday night was “a dream come true” — his first game in four years the stuff of storybooks.
But the 7-foot Bender, who changed the game the moment he stepped onto the Garden court late in the first quarter, isn’t satisfied. Maybe — just maybe — Knicks president Donnie Walsh has made the signing of the year.
“It was great, but I’m still trying to keep up with these guys,” Bender said after yesterday’s practice. “My first goal was getting here. The second goal is sustaining it.”
The morning-after the Knicks’ big Bender, Mike D’Antoni was in as good of a mood as he’s been in since Camp Saratoga, even if he did have to address the freshest controversy: Is Bender’s rise leading to Eddy Curry’s fall?
“I was hoping, we were all hoping, and we saw a glimpse of what he can do,” D’Antoni said of Bender. “He lost his legs a bit [in the second half] but a lot of potential is there for sure.”
Walsh failed to upgrade the roster during summer free agency, as he protected the Knicks’ 2010 cap space. But his out-of-the-blue Bender signing a week ago could make up for it.
That’s how good Bender looked for a guy who hadn’t played an NBA game since November, 2005, because of a bone-on-bone knee condition. Bender said he has to do special stretching exercises the day after games because of the condition.
On his first possession, with the Clippers on a 16-0 run, Bender snaked in from the perimeter on a drive and made a nifty layup over Marcus Camby.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” said Walsh who, while with the Pacers, made a trade for Bender soon after he was drafted with the fifth overall pick by the Raptors out of high school as an 18-year-old. “After that I said, ‘OK, that’s what I remember.’ “On his next touch, Bender drilled a left-corner 3-pointer. He also made an emphatic block of a Baron Davis’ floater — the cleanest block by a Knick this season. And he committed a flagrant foul on Eric Gordon, battering him to the floor as Gordon drove for a layup. The tough display was a rarity for a Knicks big man.
Bender said that would not have been a flagrant foul four years ago.
“Definitely not,” Bender said. “When Gordon goes to the rack, he bumps into you. I just put my arm out.”
Curry did not play Friday after three ineffective games since returning from his latest knee injury.
D’Antoni said because Bender is a wing player, it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of Curry. But indications are that it is for now, and Curry sounded worried.
“I’m happy we won,” Curry said. “Nobody is ever happy not playing. I’ve stopped trying to figure out what they’re thinking. I’ve just got to roll with the punches. You always want to play. I’ll continue to try to be ready if my name is ever called.”
The problem isn’t as much Curry as it is his style, which disturbs his teammates, who are overzealous in trying to get him the ball in the post. D’Antoni may want to hone in on featuring Bender off the bench.
Curry’s 3:32 stint in Chicago on Thursday, when the Knicks’ lead went from 17 points to four points, has made D’Antoni wonder it’s worth showcasing him at this juncture of the season, when they’re fighting to be in a playoff race. Bender’s production also buries Nate Robinson further into oblivion.
“It’s not him, but the team has trouble switching gears,” D’Antoni said. “I’m not there yet. I don’t want to say that, because that would be the headline.”