The Knicks` best win of the season was also their first non-sellout.
After their first six games reached the magical number of 19,763, last night`s announced attendance was a generous 18,816. There were pockets of empty seats all around the building. Garden chairman James Dolan was missing from his normal baseline seats. Instead, Rangers tough guy Sean Avery used them.
TOUGH STRETCH: Utah`s last visit to New York came two days after the Knicks` infamous brawl with the Denver Nuggets. The Knicks were in a similar fragile state at the time and looked vulnerable. But that night, with Isiah Thomas forced to use a shorter rotation, the Knicks won on Stephon Marbury`s buzzer-beating layup that started a stretch where they won eight of 12 games. The Knicks now face a stretch where they`ll face two of the league`s top teams over four days. On Thursday, the Knicks are in Boston before returning home for games against the Bucks and Suns on Friday and Sunday, respectively. (...)
