HOOP SCREAMS
Ex- Knick knifed near NYC club
Former New York Knick Chris Copeland was knifed in the gut outside celeb hotspot 1OAK in Chelsea on Wednesday when he said, “Fk off” to a stranger who tried to intervene in an argument the hoopster was having with a female friend, sources said.
Copeland’s girlfriend, Katrine Saltara, and a second woman were also slashed during the 4 a. m. mayhem, which occurred down the block from the club on West 17th Street, according to lawenforcement sources.
Shevoy Bleary Murdock — who had been listening in as the couple argued — allegedly whipped out an illegal, blackhandled switchblade and went “wild” when Copeland, 31, angrily objected to his eavesdropping, the sources said.
“The couple really starts to fight and the perp intervenes, trying to separate them,” one source said. “That’s when the NBA player turns to the perp and yells, ‘ What are you looking at? Fk off!’ That was it. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Saltara, 28, can be seen tending to Copeland, 31, as he sits bleeding on a sidewalk, surrounded by cops and onlookers, in a cellphone video posted on TMZ. “We got attacked out of nowhere by a motherfking black civilian!” she screamed. “We are scared for our lives.”
Copeland’s driver then sprang to action and put Bleary Murdock into a halfnelson hold to immobilize his right arm. “I didn’t want to let go of him, because I knew he would come after me next,” the driver told The Post. “I’m just glad that Chris survived.”
The 6foot8 forward, who now plays for the Indiana Pacers, was in town for Wednesday’s game against the Knicks.
He arrived at the club at 3: 35 a. m. and hit the bar with hiphop artist Busta Rhymes before getting into an argument with his girlfriend.
As Saltara stalked off, Copeland followed her and she then slapped him across the face, a source said.
In addition to BlearyMurdock, 22, of Brooklyn, two pro basketball players who had been partying at 1OAK with Copeland— Atlanta Hawks Pero Antic, 32, and Thabo Sefolosha, 30 — were busted for allegedly interfering with cops investigating the stabbing.
BlearyMurdock hung his head and remained mum Wednesday afternoon as he was taken from the 10th Precinct headquarters for arraignment on assault and weapons charges.
His mom, Julie Bleary, told The Post that her son “just came home from the Army a few months ago.”
“He’s very familyoriented. He goes to church every Sunday,” she said.
Lawenforcement sources said everyone involved in the incident — including second female victim Catherine Somani, 53, of Windermere, Fla. — had been partying inside 1OAK.
Pacers coach Frank Vogel — whose team beat the Knicks on Wednesday night, 10286— said Copeland had surgery on his abdomen and elbow.
Saltara was slashed on her right elbow, under her right breast and on her right buttock, while Somani was slashed across her abdomen, sources said. None of the wounds was lifethreatening.
1OAK has been the scene of several celebrity scandals, including a 2008 incident in which Lindsay Lohan was accused of stealing a Columbia student’s fur coat.
The Pacers were in a fragile state, shaken by the news popular teammate and former Knick Chris Copeland had been stabbed in the abdomen and elbow outside a Chelsea nightclub at 4 a. m. Wednesday.
After all they had been through, including Paul George’s horrifying shatteredleg injury last August and Lance Stephenson freeagency defection, the Pacers continued to be snakebitten while making one last run at a playoff berth.
It was a good thing their opponent Wednesday night was the NBAworst Knicks ( 1563). The ninthplace Pacers coped well and cruised to an easy 10286 rout at the Garden in George’s second game back and with Copeland in a Manhattan hospital after elbow and abdomen surgeries. George, on a minutes restriction, came off the bench to score 10 points in 15 minutes.
“They overmatched us, overpowered us,’’ Knicks coach Derek Fisher said.
Pacers coach FrankVogel is a loquaciousNewJersey guy who usually can talk your ear off. Instead, before the contest, he was tightlipped and somber, issuing a string of no comments regarding the Copeland situation.
“Sure, anytime something like this happens to a family member and close friend, it shakes you up a little bit,’’ Vogel said. “But our focus is strong for tonight. Our heart’s going to be with Cope, butwe got to be ready for a game.’’
Copeland, a bit player, was inactive for the previous game because of George’s return. But just as he was with the Knicks, the jovial Copeland is beloved in the Pacers’ locker room.
“He’s one of the best,’’ Vogel said. “He is very wellliked in the locker room, by our coaching staff. We’re all hurting for him.… It’s always a shock when you hear something like this. So it’s a big shock.”
Vogel had planned to visit Copeland in the hospital Wednesday afternoon but then found out he was not able to have visitors.
Vogel and Fisher said they have no team curfews on the road. Fisher said only one team he played on, the Jazz, had one. According to a source, the nightclub in which the incident occurred is known around theNBAas popular on Tuesday nights for its hiphop program.
“No, we’re grown men,” the Pacers’ Solomon Hill said of having no curfew.
Copeland never has gotten legitimate playing time in his two years with the Pacers, who offered him a twoyear, $ 6 million deal the Knicks had no means to match. He has played in 50 games this season.
Copeland will be a free agent after the season. According to a source close to Copeland, he hoped the Knicks would make a play for him this summer because he never wanted to leave. Phil Jackson said last week he expects to sign three free agents with his cap space— two of them starters. He will have 10 total roster spots to fill so the rest of them will have to be players on minimum deals, including current big men Lou Amundson and LanceThomas.
Though Knicks scouts liked Copeland, he was signed in the era before Jackson and general manager Steve Mills, upon the insistence of European scout Kevin Wilson, who discovered him in the obscure Belgian League.
George suffered his tragic moment during an intrasquad scrimmage for Team USA in Las Vegas. George stumbled into the basketball stanchion and shattered his leg.
“We understand what’s he’s capable of,’’ Vogel said. “He’s not back to his 100 percent explosive self. We’re not expecting that until next year.’’
George said returning was not only for the playoff push.
“Just for the confidence, going into the summer knowingwhat I can do and I can’t do,’’ George said.