New details of overdose episode at Thomas' NY home

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Officers who responded to Isiah Thomas' home after a 911 call reporting an overdose on sleeping pills found a man passed out on the floor and gave him oxygen until an ambulance arrived.

Authorities have not publicly identified Thomas as the victim, but a person familiar with the case, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official police report has not been released, has confirmed it was the former NBA star and Knicks coach.

On Tuesday, Harrison Police Chief David Hall provided new details about last week's emergency in which officers were handed a bottle of prescription pills at Thomas' Westchester County home.

Hall said the bottle had a name on it, but he would not disclose the precise medication. He said police called the overdose accidental because there was no suicide note and no indication the victim suffered from depression.

Thomas has denied being the victim, and Hall again criticized the ex-coach for saying it was his 17-year-old daughter, Lauren, who required treatment.

"As parents, you try to protect your kids; you don't say they did something when it was you who did it," Hall said. "We know the difference between a 47-year-old man and a teenager."

Thomas' spokesman, Jesse Derris, said, "This continues to be a private family matter and the family respectfully asks for privacy." A call to Knicks spokesman Jonathan Supranowitz was not immediately returned. Thomas, fired as coach last April, still works for the team.

Some of the latest details about the Thomas case were first reported by Newsday.

Hall said the 911 call made late Thursday from Thomas' multimillion-dollar home in the Purchase section of Harrison went first to state police, then to Harrison. Harrison police on patrol nearby got to the scene first, saw a 47-year-old man on the floor and went into "standard operating procedure," Hall said. They administered oxygen until an ambulance crew arrived and took over, eventually lifting the man onto a gurney and taking him to White Plains Hospital.

He said it was his department's first call to Thomas' house. An emergency services log, with the names of the caller and the patient blacked out, indicates the ambulance arrived at the house minutes before midnight.

Hall said someone at the house gave his officers a prescription bottle, and the officers gave it to the ambulance crew so the hospital doctors would know about it. They then searched the house for other medications that might have been involved but found none, he said.

As a player, Thomas won NBA titles with the Detroit Pistons in 1989 and 1990 and an NCAA championship with Indiana in 1981. He joined the Knicks as the team president in 2003 and became coach in June 2006 after Larry Brown was fired.

He was fired as the Knicks' coach April 18 after a season of dreadful basketball, a tawdry sexual harassment lawsuit and unending chants from fans demanding his dismissal. Still, he was retained by the organization as an adviser and consultant.

Bulls G Hughes waiting for 2nd MRI on shoulder

DEERFIELD, Ill. – Larry Hughes showed up to Bulls practice on Thursday with his arm in a sling, but he won't know how long he'll be out until a second MRI exam Friday.

Hughes dislocated his right shoulder Wednesday during an exhibition game in Minnesota and could miss the next six to eight weeks.

But Hughes said that timeline could be cut drastically after X-rays and an MRI on Thursday showed no damage. The shoulder felt sore, but wasn't causing him any pain, he added. He'll get a dye injection for his second MRI.

"Right now it's OK," he said. "Tomorrow we'll have a better feel after I take another test."

Hughes was hurt in the third quarter of Chicago's 85-75 win, when his arm was caught under Minnesota's Mike Miller while the two dove for a loose ball.

"I went down one way and my arm went the other way," Hughes said.

The 29-year-old guard said doctors told him it was a fluke injury and shouldn't be a recurring problem. He got his shoulder popped back into place shortly after leaving the game.

Fellow guard Ben Gordon didn't practice much after missing his fifth preseason game with a jammed right big toe. Gordon did some light work on the court, but didn't go full-out during practice. The Bulls' final preseason game is Friday at home against Milwaukee.

Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas tweaked his right ankle Tuesday and sat out Wednesday's game. Bulls first-year coach Vinny Del Negro is trying be patient with all the injuries.

"You can't speed the healing process," he said of Gordon. "If he's sore, he's sore."

Gordon could play Friday, but Del Negro admitted the team won't show too much of their normal game plan against the Bucks, whose coach, Scott Skiles, was fired by Chicago last Christmas Eve.

The Bulls open the regular season at home against the Bucks on Tuesday.

Kobe Bryant's injury not serious

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Lakers fans can rest easy. Kobe Bryant's right knee was a bit sore Wednesday, but the injury isn't serious and it's possible he won't miss any playing time.

"I'm all right, a little bit better today, a better mood, anyway," Bryant said after sitting out practice due to the hyperextended right knee he suffered Tuesday night in the second quarter of the Lakers' 102-98 preseason victory over the Charlotte Bobcats in San Diego.

Wearing an ice bag on his knee, Bryant said he felt a lot better about his injury Wednesday morning.

"There was no swelling," he said. "At that point, I knew I was OK. Some injuries can go either way. You've got to get lucky. I didn't sleep much, to be honest with you. Just moving it around, seeing if it was all right. These type of injuries kind of sneak up on you."

Bryant, the reigning NBA MVP, was injured under the Lakers' basket when he banged knees with teammate Josh Powell while going for a rebound. He immediately signaled to the bench that he was hurt, and a timeout was called. Bryant then sat at the end of the bench before walking to the locker room, and didn't return for the second half.

"I saw the ring flash before my eyes," Bryant said. "I was pretty worried. That's the scariest part, sitting there for five or 10 minutes, seeing what's going to develop."

Powell said he didn't feel anything.

"I didn't see him until I turned around. I turned around, saw him jumping up and down. I thought he rolled his ankle," Powell said.

"It was all his fault," Bryant said with a smile. "We just happened to run into each other."

The 30-year-old Bryant, examined Wednesday by trainer Gary Vitti, won't see a doctor or have an MRI. He said he hopes to play Thursday night when the Lakers face the Bobcats again, this time in Anaheim.

"If I can go, I can go," Bryant said. "It's all good."

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he wouldn't talk Bryant out of not playing.

"We always like players to go out and play," the coach said. "That's what they do. It gives us a chance to go out and function on the floor."

While Jackson said he wasn't too concerned, he added: "Seeing this injury over the course of my career, it's an injury you can't minimize at all. It could have some lingering effects. We'll see how it is tomorrow. We kind of go day-to-day in this business."

Notes:@ The Lakers requested waivers on Joe Crawford and forward CJ Giles, reducing their roster to the opening-day maximum of 15. Crawford, the 58th overall pick in the NBA draft last June after playing four seasons at Kentucky, averaged 2.8 points in six preseason games. Giles, a free agent who played for Oregon State last season, averaged 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in four preseason games.

Clippers beat FC Barcelona behind Thornton's 23

LOS ANGELES – Al Thornton had 23 points and 11 rebounds, rookie Eric Gordon scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter after getting into early foul trouble, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat FC Barcelona 114-109 in an exhibition game on Sunday as part of the annual Staples Shootout.

Ersan Ilyasova scored 20 points and Jaka Lakovic added 19 for Barcelona, which lost 108-104 to the Lakers on Saturday night. Juan Carlos Navarro, the only player on the team who participated at the Beijing Olympics when Spain won the silver medal, had 11 points in 29 minutes after getting 34 points in 41 minutes against countryman and former Memphis Grizzlies teammate Pau Gasol.

Barcelona's Fran Vasquez fouled out with 9:08 left in the game and teammate Daniel Santiago did likewise with 3:32 left.

The Clippers again played without Tim Thomas (groin strain), Marcus Camby (bruised heel) and Baron Davis (sprained finger). All three were on the bench in uniform after participating in pregame dills. So was center Chris Kaman, who got the rest of the day off from coach Mike Dunleavy with three more exhibition games coming up at Staples Center in the next five nights.

Brian Skinner, beginning his second tour of duty with the Clippers after spending last season with Phoenix, made his second start of the preseason and had four points in 12 minutes.

Gordon, the Clippers' first-round draft pick, hit consecutive 3-pointers 40 seconds apart to give them a 102-93 lead with 7:18 to play. Lakovic and Lubos Barton responded with 3-point baskets 36 seconds apart, narrowing the gap to 102-100 with 5:03 left.

Gordon hit a pair of layups and 3-point specialist Steve Novak connected from behind the arc, giving Los Angeles a 109-100 lead with 1:27 remaining. Ilyasova rallied Barcelona with nine points in a 43-second span, including a dunk off an alley-oop pass from Barton to cut it to 111-109 with 29 seconds to go. But Cuttino Mobley's two free throws helped seal the win for the Clippers.

Los Angeles led by as many as 15 points after Mobley's three-point play gave the Clippers a 74-59 lead with 10:33 left in the third quarter. Barcelona cut it to 85-83 on a 3-pointer by Lakovic with 36 seconds left in the quarter.

Thornton and Davis powered the Clippers to a 67-59 halftime lead with 14 points each.

Andre Barrett, one of seven players the Clippers used at the point guard position last season during a rash of injuries, had five points and four assists in 15 minutes for Barcelona. The former Seton Hall standout played only 25 minutes in four games with Los Angeles, recording six points and seven assists.

Barrett is one of four players on this FC Barcelona squad with NBA experience, along with Navarro, Ersan Ilyasova and Daniel Santiago. He spent most of last season with the Bakersfield Jam of the Development League before the Clippers signed the 5-foot-10 guard to a 10-day contract on March 1.

"At the time, we thought he was the best guy available," Dunleavy said. "He was solid. He played hard and gave us a great effort. But obviously, from our standpoint, he wasn't in a position to make it with us.

"All those guys who are close to making our level, if they're able to get guaranteed money in Europe — for the most part — that's what they're going to do for their family and their livelihood," Dunleavy added. "Hopefully, they'll play well enough and put up enough numbers to get noticed, and somebody says `OK, we'll guarantee you some money here.'"

FC Balcelona is now 1-4 against NBA teams since 1989, when they lost to Denver in the McDonald's Championship at Rome. Their only victory against an NBA club was in October 2006, when they beat Philadelphia 104-99. As per the custom at games between teams from different countries, the Clippers exchanged gifts with the Barcelona players moments before tipoff.

NBA suspends Telfair over gun charge

The National Basketball Association Tuesday suspended Sebastian Telfair for three games after the Minnesota Timberwolves guard pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon.

Telfair was arrested on the gun possession charge after the car he was driving was stopped for speeding in Yonkers, New York, on April 20, 2007.

Telfair, then a member of the Boston Celtics, was charged with misdemeanor possession of a handgun and driving with a suspended license. He was sentenced last month to three years' probation.

NBA plan huge arenas in China

Billionaire businessman Philip Anschutz's AEG entertainment firm and the National Basketball Association announced Sunday they will develop and operate NBA-style arenas across China.

The deal between Anschutz, 68, and NBA China, the league's subsidiary for Chinese business matters, launches a joint venture that will work with the Chinese government to oversee the design of world-class arenas.

The move, in the works for a year and rumored for several months, follows an NBA-AEG deal to manage and operate the 18,000-seat Wukesong Indoor Stadium where US NBA stars won Beijing Olympic gold in August.

"We are excited to partner with AEG in China where the popularity of basketball creates enormous opportunity," NBA commissioner David Stern said.

"We will work with every level of government and the private sector to create NBA-style sports and entertainment facilities that will anchor communities and grow the sport of basketball throughout China."

Revenues from the arenas would be split with the Chinese government and the partnership, an equally owned organization, will provide both AEG and the NBA with a greater reach into the world's most populated nation.

AEG, which already owns several major US arenas, would have new venues for its entertainment operations, with concerts, cultural shows, conventions and other family-oriented events having new homes in major cities across China.

The NBA, already wildly popular in China, would have a new set of arenas to launch a possible pan-Asian league or venues that could lead to an NBA-operated Chinese league or greater ties with the Chinese Basketball Association.

In many areas, the arenas would be built near existing cultural and entertainment areas with hotels, restaurants, shops, cinemas and sport training facilities.

"The league's vision will re-define how the world views sports in the next decade," said Timothy Leiweke, AEG's president and chief executive.

"(This project) will absolutely be one of the biggest and most important initiatives AEG has ever undertaken."

The joint venture will handle such details as city and site selection, design and development, securing teams to play in the arenas, sponsorship deals including arena naming rights and personnel hirings.

Talks began last October at an NBA exhibition game in London's O2 Arena, an AEG facility just as is the new O2 World Arena in Berlin and the home arena of the Los Angeles Lakers.

"AEG is the established leader in global arena development as evidenced by its state-of-the-art facilities in Los Angeles, London and Berlin," Stern said.

Leiweke sees the economic growth for average Chinese citizens as a major reason why now is the time to make such a move even in the face ofd a global finance crisis.

"We view China as an exciting marketplace with a growing appetite for sports and entertainment," he said.

Pacers C Jeff Foster signs contract extension

Veteran center Jeff Foster signed a contract extension with the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 6-foot-11 Foster was a first-round pick by Golden State in 1999 and came to Indiana in a trade following the draft. He has spent his entire 10-year career with the Pacers, averaging 5 points and 7 rebounds.

Foster says he wants to finish his career with the Pacers.

Magic spoil Brown's preseason debut with Bobcats

Dwight Howard scored 20 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 118-80 preseason rout of the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.

Rashard Lewis had 17 points to lead three other Magic players in double figures as Orlando spoiled the debut of new Bobcats coach Larry Brown.

Charlotte trailed by 31 points after only one quarter, and Orlando's lead grew to as much as 44 in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats shot only 28.4 percent and frequently sent the Magic to the line, where they hit 48 of 53.

Gerald Wallace led Charlotte with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Jason Richardson added 15 points.

In the first quarter of Brown's latest NBA stint, his team made only 3 of 21 shots and committed 13 fouls, sending the Magic to the line 20 times. Orlando scored 14 points in the last 2 minutes including a 3 and long jumper by fan favorite J.J. Redick in the final 38 seconds.

The Magic led 40-9 after the end of the first quarter and Charlotte never got closer than 24 the rest of the game.

Howard and Charlotte center Emeka Okafor were the top two picks in the 2004 draft, but the matchup was one-sided. Howard had 11 first quarter points, three more than Okafor had in the game.

Brown was frustrated early, after preaching penetration to his outside players during early preseason practices and then watching them settle for outside jumpers. In the second quarter they began taking it to the basket, but by then it was too late.

Charlotte made only four field goals in the last 19 minutes of the first half. The Bobcats' main highlight came on a baseline reverse layup by reserve Jared Dudley in the second quarter that resulted in a three-point play.

Howard also continued his strong free-throw shooting, something that hurt the 59-percent shooter in key situations last year. He made his first five — giving him a 10-of-11 start to the preseason — and ended up 8 of 10 from the line.

The Bobcats' front line has been banged up early in the preseason. Forward Sean May, who missed all of last season after microfracture surgery on his right knee a year ago, has been limited in practice and Okafor (back), Nazr Mohammed, Andre Brown and Ryan Hollins have all missed workouts.

May, who didn't wear a knee brace or protective sleeve, played 18 minutes and finished with seven points and two rebounds.

Last year much of the Bobcats' woes could be traced to point guard play. That settled down after Raymond Felton took over the starting job in the second half of the season. Charlotte also selected D.J. Augustin of Texas in the first round of the NBA draft.

Neither stood out. Felton was 0-for-4 from the field with five assists and two turnovers. Augustin came off the bench near the end of the first quarter and had two points, three assists and two turnovers in 21 minutes.

Notes:@ Hedo Turkoglu of the Magic fouled out with 3:53 left in the third quarter. ... Howard, who made a preseason vow to lead the league in blocks, has eight in 52 minutes over two preseason games. ... Charlotte's rookies carried their personal effects to the game in kid-themed backpacks. Augustin's was a pink and purple number with "Little Miss Giggles" on it.

Refs report finds only Donaghy committed crimes

Tim Donaghy is in prison, and David Stern doesn't want anyone else in the NBA to get in trouble because of gambling.

So Stern responded to a report on NBA referees Thursday by vowing to build the "most effective possible system" to monitor illegal activity and preserve the game's integrity.

"The best we can do is do the best we can, and that's all we can do. And if I spoke of confidence, I would be exaggerating," Stern said on a conference call. "The only thing I'm confident of is that if there's anything intelligent to be done by the sports league, that will be in the first rank of rules and procedures and analyses."

The commissioner ordered the investigation last August after former referee Donaghy was accused of betting on games he officiated and providing inside information to gambling associates to win their bets. Donaghy began serving a 15-month sentence on Sept. 23 at a federal prison in Pensacola, Fla.

Stern promised to implement all the recommendations included in former federal prosecutor Lawrence Pedowitz's review of the NBA's referees operations department, the result of a 14-month probe that cost the league several million dollars.

"We will be up there with the very best. No one will have a better system than we do," Stern said. "But all of that said, to the idea that, you know, criminal activity will exist every place else in the world except in sports is just something that we can't guarantee. But we're going to have the most effective possible system that's ever been devised."

The report recommended it include: a hot line to anonymously raise questions about gambling and game integrity issues; making available any complaints the league receives about refs — beginning in the 2008-09 playoffs — to both teams to avoid suspicions of bias; requiring officials to annually report their contacts among players and team personnel to the league so it can monitor fraternization.

The league already has made a number of changes, including restructuring its referees operations department and began posting officiating assignments the morning of games.

The report also suggests mandatory gambling education for players.

"We believe that gambling can expose the players and the league to significant risks, and therefore it is important that players be educated regarding those risks," the report said.

The 116-page document disputed Donaghy's allegations of specific misconduct and favoritism toward certain players and teams, but warned "because the potential for referee bias remains a threat to the integrity of the game, the league can do more."

It agreed with the federal government that there was no evidence Donaghy made any calls to affect the outcome of games after studying his work in 17 of them, including 16 during the 2006-07 season in which it was believed Donaghy made picks.

It also backed the government's stance that referee Scott Foster wasn't involved in any of Donaghy's misconduct. Donaghy called Foster 134 times from October 2006-April 2007, but the FBI and Pedowitz were satisfied that Foster's description of their relationship as longtime friends provided a reasonable explanation for the calls.

"The report speaks for itself," said Lamell McMorris, spokesman for the referees' union.

Boston Celtics players Paul Pierce and Ray Allen endorsed the recommended mandatory gambling education.

"Throughout the years we have a number of different meetings. ... A gambling meeting wouldn't hurt," Allen said from training camp in Newport, R.I. "I think its just as important to educate the guys to make sure they don't give money away that you've worked hard for and you want to continue to work hard for. The education would definitely help."

Pedowitz said that if he owned a team, he wouldn't even want his players taking part in card games on the team plane.

"The sickness of compulsive gambling can affect many people," Pedowitz said. "We have a concern that the culture of the NBA ought to be a disciplined one. So we worry about players."

New York Knicks guard Jamal Crawford said he didn't think gambling was a problem in the league.

"No, I don't think a lot of players gamble, if any," Crawford said. "We're pretty aware of it, but a class wouldn't hurt at all."

Stern wants to be sure players realize the dangers of being involved with people connected to gambling, as Donaghy was.

"It's really about who they are with and what information they give, because gamblers are always looking for an edge," Stern said. "And that's the concern that we have begun to address in rookies and we'll do more of with respect to players."

Stern already was aware through Pedowitz's interviews that nearly all his referees had violated some form of the gambling rules, though none of their activities reached the criminal level.

Referees are now allowed in the offseason to bet at a race track, off-track betting establishment or a casino — though still not the sports book. However, a referee must notify the league's security department within 24 hours of placing such a bet.

Stern has asked Pedowitz to review the new program at the end of the season.

Army Major General (Ret.) Ronald L. Johnson, who served 32 years in the Army, was hired over the summer as senior vice president, referee operations in response to the investigation. Longtime ref Bernie Fryer became the NBA's vice president and director of officials, and Joe Borgia was appointed vice president of referee operations.

On Thursday, Pedowitz praised the choice of Johnson, who will address the complaints teams have about the performance — and in some cases, perceived bias — of certain officials.

"It's clearly an issue if the teams have a perception," Pedowitz said. "If it's there, it should be dealt with."

The report found no evidence to back Donaghy's accusations that specific games were manipulated, including playoff series in 2002 and 2005. His attorney alleged in June that the league assigned refs to work Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals who would make calls ensuring the Los Angeles Lakers would beat Sacramento, extending the series to a seventh game and improving the TV ratings.

While saying it was "clearly not a well-refereed game," Pedowitz said it was called legally, and former Kings coach Rick Adelman agreed.

"I don't know who's evaluating calls or anything else. I said the same thing at the time and I'll say it today, the game was officiated differently in Games 6 and 7 than it was the first five. I said that at time and I believed that. That's not unusual," said Adelman, now coaching Houston. "I don't think they were manipulating anything. I don't think things were really perfect, either."

___

AP Sports Writer Chris Duncan in Houston and freelance writer Ken Powtak in Newport, R.I. contributed to this report.

Ben Gordon accepts 1-year, $6.4M offer from Bulls

Chicago guard Ben Gordon accepted the Bulls' one-year, $6.4 million tender offer just before the deadline Wednesday night.

A restricted free agent, Gordon was looking for a long-term deal that never materialized. He led the Bulls in scoring last season with an 18.6 average.

"He's very happy to be able to go back and play basketball," agent Raymond Brothers said. "He looks forward to talking to the Bulls next summer about an extension."

Chicago's leading scorer the past three years, Gordon can not be traded this season but could leave as an unrestricted free agent next summer. He had few options this time.

He was unable to work out a sign-and-trade deal and rejected the idea of playing overseas since the Bulls would have retained his rights. The only other option would have been a multiyear deal.

The fifth-year guard was present but did not participate in a morning practice at the Bulls' suburban training facility, a team spokesman confirmed. He was a no-show for a late afternoon session, but he will be there on Thursday.

"Absolutely," Brothers said.

Coach Mike D'Antoni has Knicks off and running

Mike D'Antoni stood near the sideline Tuesday with arms folded, smiling as he watched players speed by during full-court drills. At that moment, he might've been the only one in the gym enjoying himself.

D'Antoni's New York Knicks are going to play fast, just like his Phoenix teams did for the past 4 1/2 seasons. But it takes a lot of work to have that much fun, as the players surely realized while huffing and puffing their way around Skidmore College's gymnasium in the first practice under their new coach.

"I remember that going into college (at Florida), Billy Donovan said we want to press 40 minutes a game, and everybody said, 'Man, that's like such a fun way to play,'" forward David Lee said. "And you get into preseason doing two-a-days and you say, "Oh my God, I can't breathe.' It's a lot harder than it looks on television. It's fun on TV, but it's not. That's the way this is."

It should pay off though, especially for a team that struggled to stick to a style under former coach Isiah Thomas. Thomas wanted to play uptempo two seasons ago, then scrapped that idea last season after acquiring Zach Randolph to pair with Eddy Curry. When his brand of power basketball didn't work, he tried to shift back to a faster pace.

The result was a team that ended up doing nothing particularly well.

D'Antoni is only going one way — fast — and it'll be up to his players to keep up. Or, as he put it: "Who can come with us, comes with us."

Though certain his style can win in the NBA, D'Antoni wasn't always sure it was right for the group he was going to inherit in New York. At his introductory press conference in May, he said his preference was to play fast, but he could adapt to the skills of the players around him.

He certainly didn't want to, and now he doesn't think it's necessary.

"Looking at the film and then really watching the last month of basketball in the training center, watching them play, they can do it," D'Antoni said. "So I didn't know that for sure, and coming into a situation I might have to adapt a little bit. But you know what, they can do what we want to be done. So now I'm like real excited because I think we can do what we've preached before, what we've done before and get it done."

The Knicks who practiced Tuesday — ailing center Curry and injured first-round pick Danilo Gallinari didn't — spent plenty of time working on D'Antoni's system during full-court drills, learning what spots to run to on the fast break, and where the best shots would come from.

"It's not as easy as you would think it is," guard Jamal Crawford said. "It looks like coming down, shoot whenever you want and that's that. But there's definitely a method to his madness, definitely a lot of hard work, a lot of running, a lot of getting after it."

Gallinari doesn't seem close to returning from a back injury that's sidelined him since July. Curry developed a fever Monday night and was held out because of a bacterial infection — which D'Antoni joked was probably good for a player who figured to have trouble with all the running.

"It's going to be a struggle at first in training camp and probably some of preseason," Lee said, "not only getting in shape to play this way but figuring out the reads and how everything is going to work and knowing the chemistry on the floor, playing a different style. But once you figure that out, by about that third and fourth quarter when the other team is out of shape and they're tired and you're running the ball ... it all pays off."

D'Antoni said there will be some tweaks, but his main principles will remain the same. That means the Knicks — a team that barely practiced late last season — will have to be in superb condition to handle the pace D'Antoni will have them play at.

They held up well Tuesday, but everything usually looks good on opening day.

"Today everybody's got the adrenaline, but three days from now we could be in the mud," D'Antoni said. "We'll see what happens on that one."

Notes:@ Curry was taken to Saratoga Hospital for evaluation, prescribed antibiotics and returned to his hotel room. The Knicks said they will update his condition after waiting 24 to 48 hours to see how he responds to the medication.