Allen Iverson will not be the answer for the New York Knicks, a team official said Friday. After two days of debating the pros and cons of adding the four-time NBA scoring champion, the Knicks decided late Thursday night not to offer the newly unrestricted free agent a one-year contract.

"We are definitely not pursuing him anymore," the Knicks source said.

Knicks president Donnie Walsh was expected to speak to the media at the team's facility Friday at noon ET.

Really, the Suns' season had been perfect. Losing to two NBA Finals teams on the road on the second night of back-to-back sets was excusable.

But not any longer. The Suns' imperfection on TNT continued with their first bad loss of the season. Phoenix lost a game broadcast by TNT for the 16th consecutive time Thursday night, finally running out of comebacks to fall 110-103 to a Hornets team without injured Chris Paul.

"That was a poor performance and mostly in the effort, concentration and competitive departments," Suns guard Steve Nash said.

"As (coach) Alvin (Gentry) said, 'We're the hunted now,' " forward Grant Hill said of the 10-3 Suns. "Teams are gearing up for us now. It's a little different (from) when no one is expecting anything, to now. We have to handle our early-season success better."

Manu Ginobili underwent a Thursday afternoon MRI that showed a mild left groin strain but no structural damage, and the San Antonio Spurs guard is expected to miss 7-to-10 days.

Ginobili was hurt during the first quarter of Wednesday's game against Dallas. The veteran is averaging 14.1 points and 4.2 assists in nine games this season.

The union says total player compensation will fall this season, which would be only the second drop in the salary cap era that began in the 1984-85 season.

The amount of the drop can't be determined yet, since more deals will be signed during the season. Nor is it particularly surprising given the economic difficulties some teams have faced.

The league warned clubs during the summer of an impending drop in next season's salary cap, and some were careful with their spending. Veterans such as Allen Iverson found limited to no interest, while restricted free agents such as New York's David Lee and Nate Robinson, and Charlotte's Raymond Felton couldn't even get an offer from anyone beyond their own teams.

"We have some concern, but I think a lot of it has to do with the system," (Billy) Hunter said Thursday. "I think it has to do with the economy, I think it has more to do with attitude. I just think that they decided they're just going to be a lot more cautious and restricting in terms of spending dollars."

Partly because of the economy, the league and union have already begun talks on a new collective bargaining agreement, even though the current deal doesn't expire until after the 2010-11 season. The sides met twice over the summer, and though the players are unavailable while their seasons are going on, Hunter said he and Stern will probably meet again within the next couple of weeks.

"We both know that we don't want to repeat 1998," Hunter said. "We don't want a lockout and I'm sure there's going to be some bumps in the road as we get there, there may be a little acrimony along the way, but we know what we've got to do."

Hunter also said there is approximately $1.5 billion less in committed contracts now than in 2005-06, the first year of the deal. Maximum contract lengths were shortened from seven to six years in the deal, and with those offers hard to find this summer, Hunter thinks players should know it's no longer business as usual.

James Dolan never played in the NBA, but the chairman of Madison Square Garden has the power to do what few players ever could: Stop Allen Iverson.

According to a high-ranking Knicks official, Dolan has reservations about the club signing Iverson, the multi-talented yet controversial guard who became a free agent last night after clearing waivers.

Dolan's concerns about Iverson won't necessarily be deal-breakers. In fact, Dolan was not in favor of team president Donnie Walsh re-signing Nate Robinson over the summer and yet, not only did Robinson return, he also received a $2million raise. If nothing else, Dolan wants Walsh to do his due diligence, which could delay a potential signing for several days.

"I'm still not decided, and I don't think we are decided," Walsh said after Thursday's practice in Westchester. "When we make a decision, we'll let you know. That's where it is."

The basic pick-and-roll is the bread and butter of the N.B.A., with two teammates working in conjunction on offense, with one player dribbling the ball and the other standing still and trying to block the path of the ball handler’s defender. As all hoopsters know, once the pick, or screen, is carried out, the ball handler can pursue several options: pass the ball to his teammate who set the pick and is now rolling toward the basket or another space on the floor; take a shot himself; drive to the basket; or pass the ball to another teammate who may be open.

“When it comes down to it, that’s what we’re going to be in when the game’s on the line,” Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy said of basketball’s most reliable play. “I say it all the time: I don’t care how good you are, you can’t take away everything.”

The pick-and-roll is the play of choice for some of the league’s best players, like New Orleans’s Chris Paul, Phoenix’s Steve Nash, Miami’s Dwyane Wade and Cleveland’s LeBron James. The league’s dependence on the play is steadily increasing, according to a five-year analysis by Synergy Sports Technology, which logs every N.B.A. game, providing analytics to nearly every team. Use of the pick-and-roll rose to 18.6 percent of the league’s total plays last season from 15.6 percent in 2004-5, when Synergy began tracking it.

The Spanish 7-footer finally got back to his day job in a dynamic season debut that suggested just how good the defending NBA champions can be when they're whole.

(Pau) Gasol had 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant scored 21 points while passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the Lakers' career scoring chart in Los Angeles' 108-93 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

"Definitely, I missed it a lot," said Gasol, who sat out the Lakers' first 11 games with a right hamstring injury. "It's so much fun to play with our guys in front of our crowd. I really wasn't expecting to be as effective as I was tonight, but my teammates found me a couple of times and made it easy."

Although Gasol confessed to loving the extra-long timeouts of a nationally televised game, he appeared fully healthy in his first appearance since early in the preseason. Gasol scored 10 of the Lakers' first 13 points, moving easily on his injured leg while playing 34 minutes.

(Rodney) Carney played 31 minutes and scored 10 points against Charlotte after scoring only 17 points in the previous eight games.

He played some of the game with a sprained right wrist.

"Offensively I can make shots, but defensively, I lock down and I didn't really have any mistakes," said Carney, who was limited in practice yesterday by his sore wrist. "And I think that proved to [Jordan that] he can count on me in different situations of the game coming out. I guess I did a great job."

Because of his sore wrist, which he hurt in the first half, the Sixers have listed Carney as "probable." He said it was painful to snap his wrist down on his jumper - he was 2 for 4 on three-pointers against Charlotte - but seemed confident he would play tonight.

"I like what he gives us," Jordan said of Carney. "He gives us good matchups with [shooting guards and forwards]. And he has an edge about himself where he's tough enough that he doesn't back down, and certainly he's as athletic a guy as we have. And he can make a three. To be a threat out there and knock one down helps us."

After months of growing discord and mistrust between the Houston Rockets and their once-franchise player, Tracy McGrady and coach Rick Adelman engaged in an emotional and sometimes loud closed-door confrontation about the star’s uncertain status on Wednesday night, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The argument was precipitated when McGrady arrived at the Target Center in Minneapolis so determined to have a substantive discussion with his coach that he dressed in his game uniform and undertook his pregame routine as though he hadn’t been activated after missing 41 straight games with microfracture surgery on his left knee.

As McGrady walked back to the locker room after shooting with his teammates on the court, he passed Adelman in a corridor and his appearance in uniform appeared to surprise his coach. The fact McGrady had asked the equipment manager to bring out his uniform – especially on the Nov. 18 date that he had recently told Yahoo! Sports was his target for a return – clearly had his coach’s attention.

McGrady understood he wouldn’t be activated on Wednesday night, but sources say T-Mac was willing to go to great lengths to push his coach closer to blessing McGrady’s return to the team.

Eventually, Adelman returned to the locker room and retreated with McGrady into an adjacent coach’s office. McGrady slammed the door behind him, a witness said, and that marked the start of a tense, sometimes loud exchange that could be heard in the locker room, sources said.

In the discussion, McGrady challenged Adelman to tell him the coach’s plans and timetable for the seven-time All-Star’s eventual return to the roster, sources say. McGrady felt like Adelman had been uncommunicative with him for weeks, and no longer wanted to hear from Rockets general manager Daryl Morey or trainer Keith Jones about the team’s desire to make him wait until next week to take another MRI.

It was as though the basketball world was taunting Chris Bosh, holding up others as shining examples of what he wanted to be.

Finally, he snapped.

And as he sat on a training table in Utah's Energy Solutions Arena on Wednesday night, both knees encased in ice, weary from the road and the losses and the nightly pounding he takes, he explained exactly what drove him to stop that perceived taunting and begin a season better than he ever has.

Seems Bosh has an ego after all. And it's driving him.

"Every day I turn on the TV and they're talking about guys, especially my draft class, '03 draft class, and this and that," he said. "They keep bringing up all these and I never hear my name, unless I'm like second honourable mention or something like that. I got tired of that.

"I don't even think people know I've made all-star teams or know what I've done in this league."

This is the new – vastly improved – Bosh talking, a guy with more consistent determination, greater bulk and numbers that place him among the very best in the NBA right now.

With a steep learning curve and limited practices, New Orleans Hornets forward Peja Stojakovic showed Thursday night against the Phoenix Suns that he has grasped Jeff Bower’s system enough to make a significant impact.

Behind the Hornets’ quick ball movement and good spacing, Stojokovic struck for a game-high 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Hornets to a 110-103 upset victory against the Suns before 14,520 at the New Orleans Arena.

It was his first double-double since last January.

"It was an effort game for us," Stojakovic said. "I thought we did a pretty good job as the game went on, playing as a team. We boxed out and helped each other."

Having an opportunity to conduct only his second practice since taking over for Scott last week, Bower used the allotted two-hour time to put in a plan that called for his players to move, attack, keep the floor spread, and for effectively defending the Suns pick-and-roll plays involving Nash and forward Amar’e Stoudemire, who scored a team-high 23 points.

Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut isexpected to be sidelined 2-to-4 weeks due to a lower left leg strain and contusion he suffered in Wednesday's 99-85 win against New Jersey.

Four months ago, Allen Iverson was a free agent in search of a team. The Knicks were weak at point guard, devoid of star power and looking listless after a 32-win season. Yet Iverson never made their call list.

Iverson is once again looking for work, and this time the Knicks — appearing more listless than ever — seem ready to pounce.

Iverson cleared waivers at 6 p.m. Thursday and became an unrestricted free agent. Publicly, Knicks officials continued to say that the matter was under deliberation.

However, a person with close ties to the team said a decision had already been made. He placed the chances that the Knicks would sign Iverson at a percent in “the high 90s” and said a deal could be signed as soon as Friday. The person requested anonymity because he was discussing team business.

Reggie Evans, the Raptors power forward, has made a career of sneaking up on people. Barely recruited out of high school in football-first Florida, he went undrafted from the University of Iowa.

But when he makes his regular-season debut for Toronto, it's safe to say he'll get his share of pre-performance fanfare. Twelve games into the season, after all, the Raptors are a study in extremes.

Heading into Friday night's home game against the Miami Heat, they're the best offensive team in the NBA, according to the points-per-100-possessions efficiency stats. They're also the league's worst defensive team by the same method of measure. So logic suggests a defence and rebounding specialist like Evans, if he clogged even a few of Toronto's many in-the-paint pores, could be indispensable

"I don't want to put it all on one guy's shoulders ... but there have been nights when we've gotten eaten alive on the glass. And Reggie would be able to go in and stop that flow," Bryan Colangelo, the president and general manager of the Toronto Raptors, was saying Thursday. "Whether it was a five-minute span or a 10-minute span or what have you, he's a weapon."

There was a moment in the second quarter Wednesday night, after his fifth straight shot went down and his personal 10-0 streak had ended with a casual floater over Bucks pocket rocket Brandon Jennings, that Terrence Williams glanced to the bench with an expression that mingled amusement with contempt.

How long were the Bucks going to continue this charade, the Nets rookie seemed to be asking with his eyes and his body language, and does anyone in the building really believe that he can be guarded by a helpless pair such as the 6-1 Luke Ridnour or the 6-0 Jennings?

That wasn’t his intention, Williams said.

It’s still their turf, he explained — he was only there as a guest, even though he was trashing the place.

“No, I’m not insulted” when smaller guys guard him, the 6-6 Williams said. “I’m trying to play their position, and do what they do for their respective teams. I happen to be bigger than they are.

“I base most of my game on what I learn from (assistant coach) Doug Overton, and the things we work on is working against a smaller guard guarding me.”

He had an amazing quarter, with 16 points and five rebounds, personally leading the Nets on a 21-7 surge from the point guard position. But mostly, he learned that he can do virtually anything he wants with the ball against smaller defenders, particularly in the open court.

Judging by the changes in personnel, advancing to the NBA Finals was not good enough for Orlando Magic management last season. Nor was getting to the second round of the playoffs nearly satisfactory for the Celtics.

So both teams made significant additions. The Magic, who eliminated the Celtics in a seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal series, added Ryan Anderson, Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass, Vince Carter, and Jason Williams; the Celtics countered with Marquis Daniels, Rasheed Wallace, and Shelden Williams.

Have the alterations made these teams better? Are the newcomers a good fit? Both the Celtics and Magic are 9-3, and the outcome of their matchup tonight at TD Garden could provide an indication of which team made the better moves.

“They’re the team everybody’s chasing in the East,’’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “They won the championship of the East last year. As far as we’re concerned, they’re the favorite and Cleveland’s the second favorite and we’re the third - going by the results of last year. So, it will be good to see where we’re at.’’

“I’m just looking forward to playing them,’’ (Kevin) Garnett said. “Their record says they’re one of the best teams. They’re deep, they’re very deep. People are not really talking about their depth, but the onus is on us. This should be a good test for us.’’

All major medical issues that would be considering life- or career-threatening have been eliminated in regard to center Erick Dampier's health, an NBA source said Thursday.

The Mavericks have breathed a sigh of relief with the results but are still waiting on the returns from more tests, the source added.

There is no timetable for a return to game action for Dampier.

There is an open spot on the active list, but the Rockets seem in no hurry to change their plans. (Tracy) McGrady is expected to practice Monday, then have the MRI the team scheduled in September.

Asked if there were a chance McGrady could be allowed to sit on the bench in uniform tonight when the Rockets face the Hawks or Saturday at Toyota Center, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said in an e-mail, “We will get new info on Mac Monday.”

Morey had no comment on McGrady choosing to dress for the game Wednesday.

But McGrady's patience has seemed to have worn as thin as the cartilage that had to be replaced by the knee microfracture surgery.

“I'm dying,” said McGrady, a 6-8 guard/forward. “Just sitting there is tough. Last year, I did it because I had no choice. I couldn't play. I was hurting.

“Now, after putting in all the work this summer, I'm so eager to get back out there. I'm hungry. I'm so ready to play, man, it's not even funny. It's tearing me apart to sit here and watch my guys go out and playing and I can't do anything but watch.”

That might explain his announcement of a target date to return a week earlier than any the Rockets had said they would consider. Morey and coach Rick Adelman said again there is no timetable.

But McGrady has seemed to be progressing rapidly the past 10 days.

“We're doing a lot of work with the knee now for both strength and endurance,” athletic trainer Keith Jones said. “He's doing a lot more running for his cardio, for basketball conditioning. He's getting there. We still have a little ways to go. He knows it. But he's pushing every day. He wants to do more.”

Kobe (Bryant) (24,182) passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (24,176) on the Lakers all-time scoring list. He's second now to Jerry West (25,192) - who Bryant credited as the reason he's here (in LA with the Lakers) to begin with. Kobe said he was a Laker fan growing up and idolized the players on the list.

"It feels great. I've always said that in this organization, with this tradition and history here," said Bryant. "You look up at the rafters and you talk about some of the best players that ever played. And it feels great to be climbing that ladder."