McDyess could make New York debut tonight against Pistons

McDyess, who was acquired by the Knicks from Denver in a draft-day trade in June of 2002, missed all of last season with a left knee injury he sustained in the preseason and has been sidelined ever since. The original injury to McDyess’ knee was sustained during training camp with Denver in 2001. He missed all but 10 games of the 2001-02 season.

McDyess, who has had three left knee surgeries in the last 19 months, will decide if he will play tonight following the team’s shootaround this morning.

The Knicks, though, have played well of late and have won four of their last five, On Saturday, Dikembe Mutombo poured in 13 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had five blocks, as New York beat the New Orleans Hornets, 79-74.

In a back and forth final stanza, Mutombo was the difference altering shots and making a key steal in the closing seconds to preserve the victory for the Knicks, who rebounded from Thursday’s embarrassing 23-point loss to the Pacers.

Allan Houston scored 18 and Charlie Ward had another big game off the bench as he netted 11 points for the Knicks.

Mutombo, an eight-time All-Star and four-time defensive player of the year, has been sensational lately and is averaging 13 points and 12.3 rebounds in his last four games.

New York is 4-4 at home this season, but will hit the road for five games following tonight’s contest.

Detroit, meanwhile, comes into tonight’s contest on a winning note after Richard Hamilton poured in 25 points to lead the Pistons to an 80-69 win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday.

Chauncey Billups ended with 22 points and Mehmet Okur scored 10 for Detroit, which has won two straight and seven of their last nine games.

Ben Wallace added 11 rebounds in the win.

Detroit led by two after three quarters, but Hamilton’s basket midway through the final period gave the Pistons a 70-65 lead. The Wizards got within three at 70-67, but could not get any closer.

The Pistons, who are 6-4 away from home this season, have won three of their last four on the road, where they will play three of their next five.

Detroit defeated the Knicks earlier in the season and has won six of the last nine and seven of the last 11 meetings. The Pistons, though, have lost two straight, seven of their last nine and 17 of their last 20 in the Big Apple.