Stop the presses.
In the wake of last night’s 107-85 Nate Robinson-inspired Garden rout of the Wizards, Mike D’Antoni dropped a bomb during his postgame press conference, saying he is ready to pull the plug on Chris Duhon as the team’s starting point guard.
Robinson, who started the second half in place of the slumping Duhon, lit up the Wizards to ignite a rally from a four-point deficit at intermission that broke a three-game losing streak and moved them four games behind in the loss column for eighth place in the East.
Robinson was a buzz-saw, finishing with 23 points in 35 minutes, hitting 10 of 15 shots, mostly runners and layups. Duhon did not play in the second half, finishing 1-for-6.
Duhon had started every game this season and all but one since taking the point-guard mantle from Stephon Marbury to trumpet the D’Antoni Era. But D’Antoni finally has lost patience with the former Duke point guard, even hinting Duhon could be taken out of the rotation completely for rookie Toney Douglas.
In another bizarre twist, Larry Hughes, who expressed renewed frustration Sunday night, comparing it to “jail,” was released on the Wizards and had a vigorous game off the bench. Hughes scored 11 points on 5 of 10 shooting, barreling hard to the basket on almost every touch.
Robinson’s mighty effort coupled with Duhon’s month-long slump has finally moved D’Antoni to diminish Duhon’s role. D’Antoni was Duhon’s staunchest supporter and Robinson’s No. 1 critic, recently banishing him for 14 games.
“I don’t have a reason not to,” D’Antoni said of starting Robinson. “I like what we saw. Hopefully it will stay that way.”
Asked if he was serious about Robinson as the new starting point guard, D’Antoni said, “I really like what happened. Right now tonight, that’s how it is. I’ll go back and look at tape. When a guy deserves to play he deserves to play. There is a moment in the season, you got to seize it and I thought he seized it.”
Duhon was short in his answers afterward.
“He’s very capable,” Duhon said of Robinson. “Starting is not the biggest thing in the world. It’s all about wins.”
D’Antoni showed none of the usual optimism surrounding Duhon’s slump — which mirrors his crash last winter. “I thought his energy was way down,” D’Antoni said. “It’s been down a little while. I can’t say [why]. I don’t know.”
Removing Duhon and playing Hughes last night must have been a big blow to D’Antoni’s ego. D’Antoni placed Hughes in the doghouse in January, played him sparingly in just two games and didn’t take kindly when Hughes squawked, calling his rotation “a joke.” Hughes again piped up after Sunday’s horror show in Minnesota, saying he’s growing a beard in defiance.
“You lose three in a row and playing bad, you try to go with somebody else,” D’Antoni said. “The reason I sent Larry to the bench was I didn’t think he played well. When guys above him play bad, then let’s try it again. I don’t care about [his] chatter. He was working hard. He had a good practice [Tuesday].”
Hughes said he got word from D’Antoni before the game to “be ready,” which helped him focus more.
“I’ve been known to express myself as far as speaking up,” Hughes said. “The reality is I get paid a lot of money and want to earn it.”
Al Harrington was also back from a two-game absence due to a knee injury, during which time the Knicks suffered the Washington and Minnesota losses. Hughes and Harrington sparked the bench as the Knicks outscored the Wizards 66-40 in the second half. Harrington had 12 points.
“It’s still an old man’s game,” Hughes said with a smile, adding he’s not ready to shave just yet.