<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The evening was reserved as a grudge match for new Knicks center Eddy Curry against the team that traded him in October rather than signing him to a long-term contract. Ostensibly, the Bulls were concerned about the irregular heartbeat Curry suffered last season. But when a lingering injury prevented Curry from keeping the appointment, another former Bull bearing a grudge stepped into the breach. Jamal Crawford, who was traded from Chicago last year because the Bulls didn't want to invest in his future, finally exacted a measure of revenge with a brilliant 28-point performance and a tough defensive effort off the bench in the Knicks' 109-101 victory last night at Madison Square Garden. Crawford scored 23 of his points in the second half as the Knicks (5-9) overcame a 12-point third-quarter deficit, and he also had six rebounds and two steals in perhaps his most inspired defensive effort as a Knick. "That one was for Eddy," Crawford said. "He wanted to play really bad and couldn't. We had to get a win." Curry warmed up before the game, but after feeling a pull in his strained left calf during the morning shootaround, the decision was made to hold him out. That gave him a little more rest before tomorrow's game at Detroit against the defending Eastern Conference champions that Larry Brown coached last season. Curry's absence was hardly as surprising as the other change Brown made to the starting lineup. He decided to go with 5-9 rookie Nate Robinson in the backcourt with Stephon Marbury. It was the Knicks' eighth different starting lineup in 14 games. It didn't work very well in the first half when the Knicks kept settling for quick jump shots while trying to go up and down with the Bulls (7-6), who shot 50 percent and took a 58-50 halftime lead. Just 69 seconds into the second half, Brown yanked Robinson after an ill-advised shot and replaced him with Crawford, who hit the first two shots he looked at. Eventually, Brown went with a three-guard alignment including Robinson, and the Knicks put together a 30-13 run that extended into the fourth period to take an 87-82 lead. The highlight came when Crawford rebounded a miss by Ben Gordon, who topped the Bulls with 28 points. Crawford pushed the ball upcourt at breakneck speed, driving for the basket and then dropping the ball behind his head for trailing Trevor Ariza to finish with a dunk that tied the score at 82. Crawford insisted he was more hyped up for Bulls games last season, when Chicago swept the season series, but you couldn't tell it to look at him. "That's the best he's defended since I've been around," Brown said. "I told him that during the game ... He was aggressive on offense. I'm still dying when he takes those 12-foot runners. I wish he'd take the jump shot, which is like a layup for him, or take it to the rim. "But I've been hard on him, and it's great to see him accept it and be such a factor."</div> Source
