Philadelphia 76ers' Andre Iguodala, right, defends New York Knicks' Danilo...

Philadelphia 76ers' Andre Iguodala, right, defends New York Knicks' Danilo Gallinari, left, of Italy, in the second half of an NBA basketball game. (Feb. 4, 2011) Credit: AP

PHILADELPHIA - Danilo Gallinari repeatedly barreled to the basket Friday night after his classico brio performances of late prompted Mike D'Antoni to remind that Knicks followers probably have been a bit too impatient with the Italian forward.

"The first year you can't really count because of his back," D'Antoni said before Gallinari scored 18 points in the Knicks' 100-98 loss to the 76ers. "Then you have a grace period where you don't play for a year because of back surgery and it takes a while to get your confidence back and your body back. This is his third year; he's 22 years old, barely. A lot of times, people want too much too soon."

Gallinari's recent bent toward head-down slashes to the hoop served the Knicks well in their second-period recovery from an early 14-point deficit against the 76ers, putting him on the free-throw line nine times and allowing him to extend his streak of made free throws to 35 in a row.

"He's coming on," D'Antoni said. "He's mixing it up. He has to continue to do that. He has to be a great shooter with a great drive. He's got to figure it out . . . read the game. If you have the ability to get to the basket, you get to the basket; if they're falling back and letting you shoot, you gotta shoot.

"You have to play by instinct, and I think he's done a good job."

Though Wilson Chandler was available for the first time in four games after sitting out with a bad calf and ankle, D'Antoni gave Shawne Williams his third start of the season at power forward to "make sure [Chandler] is OK and see how he responds."

Williams, victimized by most of 76ers forward Elton Brand's 19 first-quarter points - the most by any Knicks opponent in a single period this season - played only 12 minutes and missed on a potential tying drive in the final seconds.

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