He lost the ball. He missed a jumper. He was called for two fouls in the first two minutes, plus a technical. And as he grumbled his way off the court, Mario Elie was serenaded.
“My mom and them, they still love me,” Elie said.
The Garden-variety salute of “Elie [stinks], Elie [stinks]!” was in a twisted way a welcome home for Elie, the Spurs’ spirited swingman who grew up on 97th and Amsterdam and knows all about how villains are treated in the big city.
Elie was dreadful Monday night, scoring only six points, grabbing no rebounds and having no luck whatsoever stopping Allan Houston in the Knicks’ 89-81 victory. But that wasn’t the only reason he was picked on. It was Elie who started all this with his pre-series remark that the Knicks were the weakest team the Spurs would play in the playoffs.
The Garden did not forget and Elie knew, for at least one night, that he had to take the abuse.
“I loved it,” he said. “What do you mean rude? I’m glad the people of New York notice me. I like that, I feed off that. The Garden crowd is great, man, it’s a special place to play. What can you do? I know they do Reggie [Miller] the same way, so it must be good. I’m in the same class as Reggie Miller.”