"Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni disputed Rockets rookie forward Jordan Hill's contention that he did not play with the Knicks because D'Antoni does not like to play rookies.

D'Antoni said he just doesn't play "bad rookies."

"Where does that come from?" D'Antoni said. "Seriously. I mean, exactly when would I not play rookies? That's something that just cracks me up, that I don't like to play rookies. I don't like to play bad rookies. I play good rookies. I don't have anything against rookies at all. I like rookies. Jordan was in a position. We had Al (Harrington), Jared (Jeffries), David Lee. I tried (Darko) Milicic for a while. He didn't get a great chance, I agree."

Hill then had his season-high 13 points Sunday, playing the entire fourth quarter, in his first game against the team that drafted him."