"In tricky situations, Warriors power forward David Lee has a way of saying exactly the right thing.

Lee can't say wearing a visiting uniform tonight for the first time at Madison Square Garden - where he went from a scrub to an All-Star during the past five seasons - won't mean anything.

Lee can't say he doesn't want to torch the team that this summer shunned him because of its pipe dream of signing LeBron James, which ultimately failed

So, in a climate of judging each athlete's subject, predicate and everything in between, Lee does what works for him.

He tells the truth.

"There's no two ways about it: I'm looking forward to playing in New York and getting a victory," Lee said. "It's going to mean a lot to me to go in there and get a win. I want my team to come out ahead over their team. That means a lot to me.

"Even when they come to play in Golden State, I'm going for the W. I don't care what kind of game I have, as long as I help our team win."

Lee admitted days after the sign-and-trade deal from New York this summer that he would have the New York games circled on his calendar. There was no going back, so Lee pledged to move forward without bitterness."