Raymond Felton proving himself during season of redemption

CHICAGO -- Raymond Felton has proven his value to the Knicks and proven his toughness during this road trip.

Playing with a bone bruise and contusion in the area of his left thumb, Felton totaled 44 points, 16 assists and three turnovers in the first two games of the trip. Even after getting hit hard on it in the third quarter of the Knicks' victory in Miami on Thursday night, when Carmelo Anthony was unavailable because of his own left finger issue, Felton played through the pain.

"I wasn't going to leave that game," Felton said. "It hurt. Got smacked on it a couple of more times after that. It's part of the game. If I'm out there, I got to play."

This is the kind of toughness and leadership the Knicks need at point guard, and they have three good ones in Felton, Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni.

Jeremy Lin was a great story last season. He lifted the Knicks when they needed it. But he might not have been able to do what this trio, led by Felton, has done this season.

This is a veteran team that needs a no-nonsense point guard who commands respect and can carry them at times. Waiting for Lin to develop would have been risky, especially with this roster and the win-now mentality the Knicks display every night.

"Raymond has been playing unbelievable," Tyson Chandler said. "He's running the show, carrying the ship, keeping the turnovers down."

This season has been about redemption for Felton, who repeatedly has said he has a chip on his shoulder this year.

You can't excuse his admission that he wasn't in shape last season with the Trail Blazers. As a professional, his job is to be physically ready to play. But a player can always rebound and change perceptions.

Winning is all that matters. Felton and the Knicks are winning right now, and he's crediting his teammates.

"All these guys have been great to me, for me," Felton said. "Just really keeping my confidence up and staying in my head, telling me, 'Let's go. You're the engine that makes us go. You got to be aggressive. You've got to get at it.'

"For those guys to have that confidence in me, it feels a whole lot better when you're out there playing. I've got to give a lot of that to my teammates -- and I still got that chip on my shoulder."