Robinson Regrets His Actions in Saturday Incident

“But she’s right,” added Robinson. “I’m not that type of person to act the way I did. My Mom and Dad, they raised me better than that. I’m definitely sorry. I apologize to the Knicks, to the NBA, to Denver, to the fans, and to all the kids. Because that’s not who Nate Robinson is.”

“Any time something like this happens, you re-examine your values, what you are presenting as a man,” Coach Isiah Thomas said. ”So a positive WILL come out of the negative for him.”

“I have never been involved in an incident such as this in my career,” said Robinson. “Not in high school, not in college, not ever. It’s just something I’ve got to work on, to become a better person. But it’s done, it’s a wrap. I’m facing the consequences. I guess I got what I deserved. I’ve just got to learn from my mistakes and go on.”

The team as a whole apparently feels the same way if the fairly light-hearted practice -- following the nothing-short-of-awesome short-handed victory over 18-6 Utah -- is any indication. Jazz mentor Jerry Sloan called the Knicks “as good a team as we’ve faced all year” afterwards. “I think we played really hard,” said Thomas. ”But I very much appreciate Jerry’s comments. I have the ultimate respect for Jerry Sloan. I was a fan of his as a kid -- I got his shoes. He’s a good solid man. And I’ve always valued his opinion.”

Where the Knicks did shine against Utah was in the area of defensive intensity which evidenced itself in 9 blocked shots -- the Knicks have previously averaged 3.5 per game, good for just 27th in the league -- led by Kelvin Cato’s 4 and Renaldo Balkman’s 2. Of course, the Knicks have played better all season when in trouble. ”We were down 16 early,” mused Thomas. “Maybe we should start every game down 16.” How about down 16 -- and with only 8 players available?

Thing is, when EVERYONE’S available, Cato -- and to a lesser extent Balkman -- rarely receive regular minutes. Thomas remained non-committal as to whether that’s about to change. “Last night we only had two guards so we had the opportunity to play big,“ he said. “We envisioned that when we put the team together. But we haven’t been able to play big all season so far because of injuries. I think we’ll definitely be a much better defensive team when we can get the whole team together and use all that size.”

“Last night, it was just an energy,” two guard Jamal Crawford said. “Look, we want to win. We want to be competitive. We want to make our fans proud. So we are going to leave it on the line every night.”

“We’ve had that kind of intensity in stretches,” added Crawford. “It’s an elusive thing, difficult to put your finger on it. Last night we had it from the second quarter on. Now we’re working on coming out with it all the time.”

Another improvement has been in struggling-all-season Stephon Marbury’s play. “I feel more comfortable,” said the point guard who’s scored 60 points and handed out 16 assists over the past two games. “I got the ball more. I got more control of the game and am able to make plays.” Including the game-winning 80-foot scoot down the court last night with 3.2 seconds left on the clock. “It was a GREAT outlet pass from David Lee,” smiled Marbury. “Like he knew what I was thinking.”

“Steph just seems more aggressive, both attacking the basket and in getting other people involved,” said Crawford.

“He’s been battling,” said Thomas. ”Stephon is fighting for who he is as a person and as a player. He’s had some tough weeks. But then again, the thing that always made him good is that he’s always managed to push through resistance and hard times. He’s beaten the odds. That inner fight and inner fire is in there and, hopefully, he’s tapping into it again.”

Even with the real Steph back, “It was definitely the most challenging game I’ve ever coached last night,” conceded Thomas. “I just told everybody ‘sit right in front of me’ so I know who’s who and where I can put them. Everybody was playing out of position.”

But everybody was also pulling together that much more. “On the team, we are all like brothers,’’ said Crawford.