Police investigating theft of Derrick Williams’ jewelry
Derrick Williams #23 of the New York Knicks drives to the hoop in the second half for a shot against Bobby Portis #5 of the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Backup forward Derrick Williams had $650,000 worth of jewelry stolen from his Broadway apartment over the weekend, according to a New York City Police Department spokesman.
The spokesman said Williams was out at a club early Saturday morning with some friends and that two women came back to his apartment and spent the night. Williams discovered Saturday afternoon that the valuables were missing and contacted the police, according to the spokesman.
“I’m not going to answer any questions about that,” Williams said. “I’m just not going to talk about it.”
The First Precinct squad is investigating the grand larceny, the spokesman said.
The 1st Precinct Squad is investigating the grand larceny, the spokesman said.
The Knicks played in Philadelphia Friday night and returned to New York after the game. Williams had nine points and six rebounds in Saturday night’s win over the Bulls at the Garden.
Williams signed a two-year, $10-million contract in July. The second year is a player option.
The New York Post first reported the incident.
Defending Kristaps
Before the game, Derek Fisher defended Kristaps Porzingis, who shot 17-for-57 (29.8 percent) and averaged 7.7 points in the previous six games. Fisher said Arron Afflalo’s “rise offensively as what is I guess defined as a secondary scorer” has taken some scoring opportunities away from Porzingis and pointed to the Knicks’ record in those six games. “We won four out of six of them,” Fisher said, “so that’s the best percentage to grade how he’s playing.”
O’Quinn can’t go
Backup big man Kyle O’Quinn didn’t play because of a right ankle sprain suffered when the Bulls’ Jimmy Butler stepped on his foot. O’Quinn called the sprain “mild” and said it’s too soon to know if he’ll return Wednesday night in Cleveland.
Holiday spirit
Robin Lopez, as part of the Garden of Dreams Foundation, surprised a Brooklyn family in need with a 2016 Kia Sorento before the game. The foundation also is paying the insurance on the car for the first two years and gave the Phillips family $500 in gas gift cards.
Knick nacks
Fisher on Monday’s announcement that former Lakers teammate Shaquille O’Neal is eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: “My thoughts are that he’ll get in.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
