With starting point guard Charlie Ward out for another couple of weeks with a broken pinkie finger, Chris Childs playing his game with usual abandon is akin to the Knicks playing without a safety net.
After Ward, Childs is basically it for point guards on the roster, unless you count the inexperienced Rick Brunson.
With Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell starting in the “think big” backcourt yesterday, Childs waited patiently for his chance off the bench and he produced in a positive way in the Knicks’ 87-73 win over the Pacers.
Childs, dishing out nine assists to only two turnovers and scoring five points in 30 minutes of quality time, provided a spark for the Knicks and he, too, got under Reggie Miller’s skin.
The highlight was an offensive foul against Miller, who knocked Childs hard to the floor and still left the Garden’s favorite punching bag staring at the officials in disbelief. It was enough to ignite the Garden crowd into one of its patented obcenity-laced chants and spark the Knicks.
When it was suggested to Childs that he “out-flopped a flopper,” Childs said, “It wasn’t a flop. I got hit in the jaw. It was a call he normally gets.” If the statistics hold true, Childs’ mission was well accomplished. The Knicks were plus-four points over the Pacers with Houston and Sprewell in the backcourt, plus-13 with Childs in the game and minus-three at the end with Brunson running the point.