Hazell says he was walking home from a friend's Christmas party when the robbers approached. "I just got to the front door of my building when these four dudes came up to me," said Hazell, who has been sidelined since breaking a bone in his left wrist in a game last month. "One of them had a hand in his pocket and told me to sit down on this bench. I didn't want to, and he said if I didn't he was going to shoot me." Hazell pushed the robber in the chest and made a run for it. He said he heard four shots as he bolted toward E. 105th St. One of the slugs penetrated his side, just below his armpit, and then exited his body.

When he got to the corner of E. 105th St. and Park Ave., he flagged down a passing FDNY ambulance. "They worked on me there and then took me to the hospital," he said.