Amar’e Stoudemire stayed home from Knicks practice, but coach Mike D’Antoni is optimistic the power forward will play in Friday night’s Game 3 against the Celtics.
“I think I’m optimistic,” D’Antoni said at Thursday’s practice. “We won’t know until he wakes up. He’s had a few spasms. He’s feeling better today, hopefully it continues. We’ll work him out tomorrow morning. He’ll get there and get in the pool and work and we’ll make a determination, but I’m optimistic.”
Stoudemire left Game 2 with 3:22 left in the second quarter after he suffered back tightness during pregame warmups on a playful dunk during which he tapped the backboard with one hand while slamming it through with the other. Stoudemire stayed home Thursday to receive treatment by Knicks staffers. It also saved his back the strain of the two-hour roundtrip drive from his Manhattan home to the team’s practice facility in Greenburgh.
“We didn’t want him to ride two hours in a car — an hour there, hour back. The medical staff went to him all afternoon and night,” D’Antoni said.
Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups each underwent an MRI exam Wednesday that revealed a pulled muscle for Stoudemire and a strained left knee for Billups. The veteran point guard said he took a cortisone shot, but for 24 hours it just added to the soreness.
“I just want to be able to run or jump,” said Billups, who suffered the injury in the final minute of Game 1.
D’Antoni is not as hopeful Billups would suit up for Game 3 at Madison Square Garden.
“I’m a little bit less optimistic, a little tougher row to hoe,” D’Antoni said. “He’s doing much better. We’ll see tomorrow.”
If Stoudemire is unable to go, Shawne Williams would get the start. Williams scored six points in 22 minutes in Tuesday’s 96-93 loss that put the Knicks in a 2-0 hole against the Celtics.
“It depends on how he moves and how he feels,” D’Antoni said of Stoudemire. “We can’t have him out there at half speed. If he’s ready to go great, if not, we’ll close ranks and go forward.”
*
Carmelo Anthony, who carried the Knicks in Game 2 with 42 points, said Friday’s Game 3 is “a must-win for us.”