New coach Hornacek eager to make Knicks a winner

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — Jeff Hornacek competed against Phil Jackson for years, and he remembers only a couple of short, painful conversations.

“I think probably the only words I’d ever said to him were, ‘Congratulations on the championship again,’ when they beat us two times,” Hornacek said.

So when Hornacek learned that Jackson wanted to interview him for the New York Knicks coaching job, he figured they would talk briefly before the president of basketball operations moved on to hire somebody he knew better.

Instead, their conversation lasted six hours, and now they will be together for a few years.

The Knicks introduced Hornacek as their new coach Friday, a few weeks after Jackson found the leadership and demeanor he wanted in his coach.

“That comfort zone was possible, and I think the basketball knowledge that he has and the familiarity he has playing basketball are things that attracted us together,” Jackson said.

They first spoke on the phone this spring while Hornacek was in a hospital visiting his mother-in-law, who was recovering from knee surgery. They also met in Los Angeles when Hornacek was in town for his daughter’s graduation from Southern California, then flew to New York for another discussion.

Their teams had faced off in the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998, with Jackson’s Chicago Bulls beating Hornacek’s Utah Jazz both times.

Jackson respected his abilities and kept …

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