Knicks coach Larry Brown, on cue, responded to comments made by guard Stephon Marbury about changing his playing style away from Brown's team oriented approach to something which more suits his skillset, Newsday is reporting.

"I've never given a guard more freedom than Stephon Marbury in my life, and he has the ball all the time," Brown said before the Knicks played the Denver Nuggets.

The Knicks had won consecutive games before Saturday, even though Marbury averaged only nine points in the victories.

"We had just won I think two in a row when I heard those comments," Brown said. "So again, I'm hopeful that he'll step up and be Starbury."

"I've said since Day 1, I don't care if a guy takes 25, 35 quality shots, it doesn't bother me at all," Brown said. "But we're not going to win any games until we start guarding people and taking care of the ball better."