The New York Knicks finally got off to a good start, then were even better at the finish.
David Lee scored a season-high 28 points, Al Harrington had 13 of his 24 in the fourth quarter, and the Knicks earned their first victory of the season by beating the New Orleans Hornets 117-111 Monday night.
Chris Duhon finished with 18 points and nine assists for the Knicks (1-3), who were off to their worst start since dropping their first five games in 2005-06. But they played from ahead this time after facing huge deficits in their previous games, then pulled away midway through the fourth quarter.
“I thought they showed character. They battled back,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “To get that first win, it gets a little hairy. I’m just encouraged as a whole, the whole game.”
Larry Hughes added 20 points in his first start of the season after he didn’t play in the first two games. It was New York’s second straight lineup change and third of the season, and perhaps D’Antoni finally found one he can stick with.
Chris Paul had season highs of 32 points and 13 assists for the Hornets, who were coming off a loss in Boston on Sunday night. Emeka Okafor added 24 points, his best game with New Orleans, and grabbed 10 rebounds. David West scored 21 points.
“We had a lot of momentum actually going into the fourth and we couldn’t get stops. It’s simple as that,” Paul said.
BOBCATS 79, NETS 68: Gerald Wallace had 24 points and 20 rebounds and host Charlotte held New Jersey without a point for more than 10 minutes in rallying to victory.
The Nets’ ineptitude allowed Charlotte to go on a 24-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters, wiping out the Bobcats’ horrible offensive start.
ROCKETS 113, JAZZ 96: Rookie Chase Budinger scored a career-high 17 points and was one of eight Houston players to score in double figures.
The Rockets pulled away with a 13-0 run early in the fourth quarter and won in Salt Lake City for the first time since spoiling the Jazz’s home opener two years ago.
KINGS 127, GRIZZLIES 116, OT: Kevin Martin scored 48 points and Beno Udrih hit a game-tying layup in the closing seconds of regulation to give Sacramento a victory in its home opener.
