James Dolan chose to skip Larry Brown's homecoming Wednesday night at the Garden, which was probably a wise move considering that a couple of other recent famous returns - Jeff Van Gundy and Latrell Sprewell - turned ugly for Dolan and the Knicks for very different reasons.
Michael Jordan, who hired Brown to coach the Charlotte Bobcats, was in the building and received a standing ovation when he was shown on the Jumbotron. Charles Oakley, a rough-and-tough Knick from another era, wasn't shown on the big screen, which may have something to do with Oakley often criticizing his former team.
It's hard to imagine that Oakley would condone Mike D'Antoni's run-and-gun style, but he did admire how the Knicks pounded the ball inside to Zach Randolph in the fourth quarter and made enough plays down the stretch to survive with a 101-98 victory. Despite all the controversy surrounding Stephon Marbury's benching, the Knicks improved to 2-2. "When you lose two in New York it feels like the world is coming to an end," said Jamal Crawford, whose two free throws with six seconds left iced the victory. (...)
