Chandler, Felton break out as Knicks open with win

TORONTO - It all started here, 64 years and 4,999 games ago, when the Knicks were born with a win. Wednesday at the Air Canada Centre, a new era in franchise history began with game No. 5,000 and, most importantly, win No. 1 of the new season, 98-93 over the Raptors.

And could it have possibly been a must-win, on opening night? Several Knicks players, who are aware of a challenging stretch that awaits, starting Friday night in Boston, told each other before the game that it most certainly was.

"You want to beat the teams you believe you're supposed to beat," Amar'e Stoudemire said. Stoudemire finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds and dealt with the relentless aggression of Reggie Evans (16 rebounds), an old-school power forward who would have loved playing in the 1990s, and heavy double- and triple-team coverage from the Raptors. As a result the most glaring number on Stoudemire's stat line was nine turnovers. Yes, he was that close to a "cripple-double" - as Mike D'Antoni jokingly put it - in his Knicks debut.

But the Knicks' new star made sure to make an impact when it mattered most, as he scored seven points in a 2:20 span of the fourth quarter to turn a two-point lead into a 96-88 advantage with 2:41 left.

"He's going to be a finisher," D'Antoni said. "That is his job."

It's something the Knicks haven't really had in years. Something else this team hasn't had in a long time is collective, concerted effort on defense. It's still clearly a work-in-progress and there were notable missed rotations, but there were also signs of actual commitment, especially by the rim. Ronny Turiaf had four of the team's 10 blocked shots.

Still, the Raptors managed to close to within 96-93 with under a minute to go in regulation and had two chances to tie it, but Linas Kleiza missed a three-pointer with 32.9 seconds left and Leandro Barbosa missed a three from the corner with 3.9 seconds left. Draped all over Barbosa on that final shot was Wilson Chandler, who had a strong all-around game off the bench in a role he seems suited to play.

Chandler had 22 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots off the bench and played very effective defense in the second half against 7-foot center Andrea Bargnani, who had 18 points in the first half but finished with 22.

Raymond Felton had 15 points, six rebounds and six assists in a team-high 37:07 in his Knicks debut. The team also started two rookies on opening night, for the first time since Patrick Ewing and Gerald Wilkins in 1985-86, with mixed reviews. Second-round pick Landry Fields had a solid game with 11 points and hit three of six from three-point range in 29:50. But center Timofey Mozgov managed only 7:26, as he struggled with foul trouble (four) and a difficult matchup against Bargnani and David Andersen, both of whom are centers who play a perimeter game.

While the Knicks played their first game with Stoudemire, the Raptors played their first without Chris Bosh, who joined what is a growing list of star players - Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady started the exodus - who have bolted this city. So next in line is Bargnani, the first overall pick in 2006, who stepped right into Bosh's role as the primary scorer.

Bargnani's fellow Italian, Danilo Gallinari, meanwhile, struggled with his shooting early, but perhaps more concerning than his 1-for-5 start from the field is the fact that the 6-10 forward did not grab a single rebound in the first half in 12:18. In the second half, he picked up other facets of his game to finish with a respectable 12 points and six rebounds in 34 minutes. Of his five second-half boards, the most important one came when he rebounded Barbosa's miss with 3.9 seconds left.