DOUBLE YOUR FUN: Center Tyson Chandler, shooting last night in the Knicks’ 101-79 win over the Pistons, posted a double-double (15 points, 17 rebounds) for the first time since March 12 against the Bulls. (Neil Miller)
Amar’e Stoudemire’s back woes have returned, and Jeremy Lin is now banged up, too, a pair of alarming injuries to a pair of critical Knicks players.
Stoudemire suffered what the Knicks called a “sore lower back” in last night’s 101-79 rout over the Pistons at Madison Square Garden and spent the fourth quarter in the trainer’s room. Lin developed left knee soreness and did not play after coming out with 4:47 to go in the third quarter.
Stoudemire’s injury is more serious. Interim coach Mike Woodson said Lin is OK and could have gone back into last night’s game but did not because the win was in hand. Stoudemire’s is a more worrisome issue.
“I am concerned about Amar’e,” Woodson said. “We’ll evaluate it, see how he feels [today].”
Stoudemire pulled a back muscle during last season’s playoff series against the Celtics, and the power forward needed the entire offseason to rehab it. He has now re-emerged after a rough first half of the season, but last night did not play after departing with 3:42 left in the third quarter.
Stoudemire said he certainly could have gone back in the game had it been necessary. He insisted his back injury was nothing to fear and declared he should be ready for tomorrow’s game against the Bucks with serious playoff implications.
“I don’t think there’s a reason why I wouldn’t play [tomorrow],” he said. “It just got a little tight, that’s all. We just took precautionary measures.”
Stoudemire said his back was already “much better,” and insisted it is not the same experience from last year against Boston.
“It’s not really a pain,” he said. “It’s just muscle tightness. It’s really just a matter of massaging it out. There’s nothing to be worried about.”
As for Lin, he said the knee soreness had developed from “over-use,” but said, “It’s good to go.”
“The second half it was a little worse than the first, but the guys didn’t feel like there was any need to push it. But I’ll be good for Monday,” Lin said. “Doc said it’ll be gone soon. Just have to stay on top of it and keep doing different exercises and getting in there to do rehab.”
Stoudemire and Lin are two of the Knicks’ four most important players, and there are no perfect replacements — especially since backups for both players are ailing too. Baron Davis is a solid backup point guard, but he is dealing with hamstring and back woes. Forward Jared Jeffries has an inflamed right knee and is out for approximately two weeks, with rookie Josh Harrellson replacing him in the rotation.
The Knicks can little afford to rest Stoudemire and Lin as long as they are clinging to a playoff spot. The Knicks are 1 1/2 games up on the Bucks for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.
“We’ve got to win games,” Woodson said.
Stoudemire was terrific in his 24 minutes last night, powering his way to 17 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. He has looked a lot better in the last week, but now his status is unclear.
Lin posted 13 points but also seven turnovers in 23 minutes.
The Knicks as a whole played far better than in Friday’s 96-79 loss to the Raptors, the first loss of Woodson’s Knicks tenure (6-1).
Tyson Chandler dominated inside with 15 points and a season-high-tying 17 rebounds, while struggling Carmelo Anthony provided encouragement in the third quarter, shooting 4-for-5 in the period after a 1-for-7 first half. He finished with 15 points on 5-for-12 shooting.