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NEW YORK, February 20, 2012 – The New York Knickerbockers announced that the team will celebrate Pioneer Night: A Celebration In Black History tonight against the New Jersey Nets.

In honor of Black History Month, the Knicks will recognize pioneers who helped pave the way for past and future Knicks. Joe Lapchick, Nat Clifton and John Rucker will be recognized throughout the game for their achievements.

Lapchick, the franchise’s second head coach (1947-56), who played a pivotal role in the integration of the NBA and passed away in 1970, is the  recipient of the Sweetwater Clifton "City Spirit" Award for the month of February. The award, named in honor of Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, the first African-American to play for the Knicks, recognizes individuals who have made a significant difference in the lives of others. Each month, a winner is chosen by members of the Knicks front office staff and honored at center court during a Knicks game with a $2,000 donation on his or her behalf to a charity of the winner's choice. Lapchick will be represented by his son Richard and daughter Barbara.

Rucker, an Erasmus HS (Brooklyn) alum, was invited to Knicks training camp in Bear Mountain in 1950 to become the first African-American to wear a Knicks uniform.  Although Clifton was the first African-American to appear in a game for the Knicks, Rucker preceded Clifton in camp by two weeks.

The franchise will also present the fourth annual Dick McGuire Knickerbocker Legacy Award to Assistant Coach Herb Williams, as the individual who exudes the qualities of what it means to be a Knickerbocker: Pride, Tradition & Class. Previous winners included: Dick McGuire (2009), Cal Ramsey (2010) and Mike Saunders (2011).

Limited tickets for this game are still available. To purchase tickets, please visit nyknicks.com.

Jeremy Lin's postgame interview video 

AP NEW YORK, February 17, 2012 – New York Knickerbockers Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed free agent guard J.R. Smith. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

          Smith, 6-6, 220-pounds, returns to the NBA after playing for Zhejiang of the Chinese Basketball Association. He holds career averages of 12.5 points, on .428 shooting from the field and .371 from three-point range, and 23.9 minutes in 503 games (129 starts) over seven NBA seasons with New Orleans/Oklahoma City and Denver. He averaged 12.3 points on .435 shooting and .390 from downtown (124-318), 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists over 24.9 minutes in 79 games (six starts) with Denver last season.

          The Freehold, NJ-native was originally selected out of high school by the New Orleans Hornets in the first round (18th overall) of 2004 NBA Draft.

Click to watch postgame interview

( Big C) New York - It was another big night for Jeremy Lin. The Knicks new rising star is taking New York and the basketball world by storm. After five spectacular starts, Jeremy Lin has proven that he is the “real deal”. Before the Knicks tipped off against the Lakers many fans and critics still were wondering, “Can Lin have another big night as the Knicks starting point guard?” Some were wondering what would happen against the Lakers, others were saying Lin could not score against the Lakers.

Well sure enough Lin brought his “A game” scoring a career high 38 points and 7 assists. It’s not just the fact Lin scored 38 points, but it’s the way he did it. In this game, whether they want to admit it or not, the Lakers planned to play tough with Lin and to get in his head. The Lakers attempted to rough up Lin very early in the game.

The hard fouls by Derek Fisher and Steve Blake only seemed to make Jeremy Lin even more focused. More importantly Lin took what the defense gave him. If the Lakers left him open he took the jump shot. If the defense played him to go to his left he took the lane and drove to the left side of the court. The scouting reports the Lakers used to find holes in Lin’s game were useless. In the end Lin outplayed everyone on the court, including Kobe Bryant----how fitting. Before the game Kobe Bryant had pretty much concluded Lin was all hype. Now Kobe knows Jeremy Lin has a game that is to be respected.

On to last night’s game against the Wolves. This game was supposed to be the Rubio vs. Lin show. Timberwolves fans showed they were not interested in Lin from jump ball. Wolves fans already have young, superstar talent in point guard in Ricky Rubio. Throughout the Wolves’ game the fans started screaming “Overrated” at Jeremy Lin. So how did Jeremy Lin respond to the chants? Simple, he finished the game by scoring 20 points and having 8 assists while Ricky Rubio finished with 12 points and 8 assists. Whether it's a team trying to play tough against Lin, or the crowd trying to intimidate Lin, he is finding ways to lead the Knicks to wins and leaving opponents speechless.

It’s one thing to say you are going to stop Jeremy Lin, it’s a whole other thing to try and stop the 6’3” 200 pound point guard from getting in the paint. Lin is a big guard who is not afraid to take contact and get to the line. More importantly he is getting it done on both ends of the court.

Jeremy Lin has averaged 26.8 points, 8 assists, and 2 steals over the last 5 games. Those numbers are nothing to sneeze at. The Knicks have now won 5 in a row with Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire out of the lineup. Now that the Knicks have found their point guard things should only get better when the two stars return.

Whether or not Lin can sustain this hot streak every night remains to be seen. One thing for sure is, if Lin can’t score he will contribute through other aspects of his game (i.e. passing, defense, or supporting his teammates in general).

Lin looks like the point guard the Knicks have needed for a very long time.

Up next the Toronto Raptors

Notes:

-Amar'e Stoudemire is schedule to play tomorrow against the Raptors.

-Carmelo Anthony will most likely be available for Friday's game.

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Via: "NBA.com NEW YORK -- The New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin and the Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Feb. 6, through Sunday, Feb. 12.

Lin led the Knicks to a 4-0 week, averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals. His 109 points over his first four career starts are the most by any player since 1976-77, and he became the first player in NBA history to tally at least 20 points and seven assists in each of his first four starts. Lin scored a career-high 38 points on Feb. 10, in a 92-85 win over the Lakers." -NBA.com

Props to Lin for being player of the week.