NEW YORK (AP) - Marcus Camby shrugged off the team doctor's advice and returned to the lineup for the New York Knicks on Tuesday night, a little more than five weeks after straining a knee ligament.``He wanted me to rest it for a couple more days because the swelling came back (after the team's shootaround Tuesday morning),' Camby said. ``But I came here with the mindset that I was going to play today, so I'm going to play today.'
Camby missed 17 games because of the right knee injury, which was originally believed to be more serious than a strain. But after team doctor Norman Scott performed an arthroscopic diagnostic procedure, the injury was reclassified, and Camby began his rehabilitation.
He returned to practice last week and experienced swelling in the knee, delaying his comeback for an extra week.
Coach Jeff Van Gundy planned to work Camby back into the rotation gradually, limiting his minutes in his first couple of games.
Camby is the Knicks' fifth-leading scorer, averaging 10.5 points per game.
The Knicks entered Tuesday night's game against Houston with a one-game deficit in the Atlantic Division standings - a half-game farther from first place than they were Feb. 5, when Camby's leg buckled as he was fouled on a fast break against the Miami Heat.
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