Stephon Marbury injured his shoulder against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday and did not play Wednesday against the Bulls. Larry Brown did offer Marbury the option of playing a couple of token minutes to keep his streak alive, saying, "It's an incredible streak when you consider the bumps and bruises he gets."

Marbury, though understanding of Brown's intentions, respectfully declined.

"I don't want my kids to look back and say, 'My father went on the court just to keep up the streak,'" Marbury said. "That's cowardly to me. It's like trying to uphold something that shouldn't be upheld by going on the court and coming back off. If you can't play, don't play."

Marbury said doctors had told him that he could recover within nine days.