Douglas is pulled down stretch

With Chauncey Billups' deep thigh bruise sidelining him for a second straight game, Toney Douglas was handed the keys to the offense.

But Mike D'Antoni snatched them right back out of the guard's hands down the stretch, turning them over to Anthony Carter.

Douglas played only 3:31 of the fourth quarter, getting yanked for Carter and sitting on the bench for the bulk of the final two-plus minutes of the Knicks' 119-115 loss to the Cavaliers at the Garden Friday night.

Precisely why was that?

Douglas, coming off a brilliant 24-point, five-assist performance against Chris Paul and the Hornets two nights earlier, had no clue. "You have to ask Coach. I don't know," he said with an uncomfortable chuckle.

D'Antoni was never asked about it during his short briefing, but the answer was rather obvious: After hitting five of his first six shots and getting 11 points, four assists, two rebounds and only one turnover in the first half to help the Knicks take a 64-58 lead, Douglas struggled in the second half, missing all three shots and failing to keep the offense operating smoothly.

He had a critical turnover off the dribble with 2:26 remaining and the Knicks leading 108-106. Then he picked up his third foul while attempting to get the ball back. Evidently, D'Antoni had seen enough, and he gave Douglas the hook.

"I'm just the type that I do whatever Coach asks me to do, whether I'm in or out," Douglas said. "So you have to ask him about it."

Douglas chatted it up with Billups on the bench after D'Antoni pulled him, going over a few things with his new mentor.

"I was telling him about our defense and stuff," Douglas said, "and how we've got to get better with that, certain things."

Carter didn't think his insertion was an indictment of Douglas. "Nah, nah," he said. "Toney went out there and did his thing, and Coach decided to put me in. It wasn't nothing against Toney at that time. Coach just went with whoever he thought could finish the game. There's been games where Toney had to finish and I was on the bench. It was a good read by Coach and he's just got to go with his gut feeling."

With Billups expected back Sunday against the Hawks in Atlanta, it's back to a reserve role for Douglas. He said he'll draw on the positive things he did while stepping into Billups' role.

"It helped me a lot, getting in a rhythm and a groove," Douglas said. "I'm confident I can play and keep getting better every day."