To coach Mike Woodson, the Knicks point guard situation all season has been “kind of a roller coaster ride.”
You need only look at Monday night against the Suns.
Woodson said he wanted to curtail Raymond Felton’s minutes. After all, the starting point guard was playing just his fourth game back from a strained groin. So naturally, the evening ended up in overtime, and Felton played 44 minutes.
The Knicks’ point guard situation, which once seemed so deep, has been thinned considerably, thanks to all sorts of injuries, including a Pablo Prigioni fractured toe, an achy Beno Udrih knee and Felton’s ails.
And Felton Monday? Swell on offense. Defense? Not so much as Goran Dragic and Leandro Barbosa were compiling pretty good careers in the game.
“Just got to try to do a better job trying to contain Barbosa, Dragic,” Felton said. “When those guys are coming off screen rolls, it’s kind of tough to contain and get back in front,” Felton said. “We had to buckle down and find a way.”
They did in overtime, when the Suns shot 0-of-7 and the Knicks emerged 98-96 victors.
“He was solid again,” Woodson said of Felton, who scored 19 points. “I got to get our point guards playing better defense out front. But his overall game in terms of running the team and making shots and getting the ball where it had to go was pretty good again.”
See? Ups and downs. And while individual defense may have been on the negative, Felton provided one of the highlights of the affair, a right corner 3-pointer in the final minute of regulation that looked as if it might be the shot of the game. Felton took a Carmelo Anthony pass and hit at :53.1 for a 92-90 lead.
“I was already ready,” Felton said. “I was just waiting in case he needed to throw me the ball so when he threw it to me I was ready to let it go.”
But of course, the high was followed by a low — the Suns forced OT — which was followed by a high: The Knicks got their fifth straight victory.
“We executed and made plays down the stretch, got the right stops, hit the right shots, got the right rebound,” Felton said. “We did all the little things to come away with this win.”
And the 44 minutes? While Felton said he feels better than he has all season, he admitted of the hefty minutes, “I’m feeling it right now, for sure. I’m sure I’ll feel it in the morning. But I’m OK.”
Help is nearby. Udrih dressed but did not play and Prigioni is nearing a return from the fractured toe suffered Dec. 16. He missed his 13th consecutive game Monday but has been running.
“I started [running] a little bit two days ago and again [Sunday], then this morning a little more,” said Prigioni, who doubted a return for Charlotte and Indiana this week. “The toe reacted really well. So I’m happy and I start to push every day a little more.”