[NY Daily] Curry & Knicks are big duds Rockets roll as skid hits 9 BY FRANK ISOLA DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER It's another long night for Eddy Curry, who tries to get around Rockets' Dikembe Mutombo and ends up with just one point in last 3 quarters. HOUSTON - Larry Brown pleaded, prodded and even threw Eddy Curry a bone by calling him the Knicks' franchise player. It was worth a shot, but there is only so much coaching one man can do. Eventually, Curry has to produce on the floor. Last night was just another example of how Curry and his equally struggling teammates remain a major work in progress. Instead, Yao Ming was by far the most dominant big man on the floor as he scored 24 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 90-83 victory over the Knicks. The win was the Rockets' second in eight days over the Knicks, who have lost nine in a row, 15 of their last 16 and are 14-36 overall. Even with Tracy McGrady shooting blanks and barely moving, the Knicks still couldn't muster enough offense against the Rockets. The Knicks shot 13-for-42 in the second half, while McGrady scored seven points overall on 3-for-20 shooting. David Wesley scored 15 and New York playground legend Rafer Alston had 14 points and seven assists for Houston while his idol, Stephon Marbury, missed his sixth straight game. Quentin Richardson led the Knicks with 19 points and provided solid defense against McGrady, who left the arena less than 10 minutes after the final buzzer. Jamal Crawford scored 15 and Jalen Rose added 11 and sat the fourth quarter, two seats over from a frustrated Curry. Curry, who was lectured by Brown following Friday's loss to the Hornets, dunked on Yao's head in the first quarter and finished the period with eight points and four rebounds. But Curry, who has a knack of starting out strong and fizzling out, played 15 more minutes and produced just one point, three rebounds and five fouls. Curry's fifth foul came with 9:19 left, and 16 seconds later he was done for the night. The Knicks overcame a 10-point deficit in the final seven minutes of the first half and held a 46-44 lead until David Wesley drained a three-pointer with 0.9 seconds left. McGrady's lone first-half field goal came in the first 14 seconds of the second quarter and then McGrady started the second half by hitting a jumper 13 seconds in. McGrady, who has a history of back problems, clearly was not right. At every dead ball, he was doubled over, apparently to stretch his back. He couldn't beat Dikembe Mutombo in a foot race if you gave McGrady a five-year head start. McGrady missed his first seven shots and was playing right into the Knicks' hands by settling for jumpers. The first time McGrady drove, his aggressive actions resulted in a three-point play for Yao that extended Houston's lead to 63-53. On the Rockets' next possession, Wesley's three made it a 13-point game. The Knicks kept close in the first half by knocking down 15 of 22 free throws, but eventually their failure to execute offensively caught up to them. They missed their first seven shots of the half and were 5-for-21 in the first quarter. With 32 games still left on the schedule, the Knicks are a serious threat to post fewer than 30 wins. Before the game, Brown admitted that the losing was taking its toll on the players and that he's concerned with the team's psyche. "When you're losing game after game after game it's tough," Brown said. "It's hard to keep them up. It's hard to get guys to keep competing. It's really tough on the young kids. But you can't stop coaching and trying to get better. You hope you have something positive to talk about." Brown also addressed the issue that his players are losing trust in him. Several Knicks have stated off the record that they are tired of being criticized publicly by the head coach. "I hadn't had too many guys that didn't realize you're trying to help them and make them better," Brown said. "You want to be fair. I've never seen a happy team losing. If you're happy and enjoying it you should be doing something else." http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/story/390944p-331623c.html
