Sprewell Turns Words Into Action

Ever since Latrell Sprewell scolded his teammates, the New York Knicks have acted like a different team.

Sprewell scored a season-high 29 points Saturday night as the Knicks won for the fifth time in six games, defeating the Denver Nuggets, 96-88, at New York.

New York now has the second-best record (14-8) in the Eastern Conference.

“We are a team, and I felt I was a part of the problem,” said Sprewell, who ripped his teammates Nov. 29 for not getting upset after they lost a home game against Miami and fell to 9-7. “I want to win, and I’m not going to allow us to go out there and not be ready.

“I want this to be a great season for us. We’ve been close, but we haven’t gotten to the ultimate--winning a championship. Getting home-court advantage will go a long way toward reaching that goal.”

Allan Houston added 21 points and Larry Johnson made two three-pointers in the final 4 1/2 minutes.

Indiana 99, Charlotte 96--Jalen Rose scored seven of his season-high 36 points in overtime as the Pacers beat the Hornets at Indianapolis.

Rose, playing only his 10th game after breaking his wrist in the preseason, made 10 consecutive field goals from late in the third quarter through the first three minutes of overtime. His drive to the basket gave Indiana a 94-86 lead, its biggest of the game.

Jamal Mashburn and David Wesley made three-pointers to cut Indiana’s lead to 98-96 before Rose scored the final point on a free throw with two seconds left.

Philadelphia 83, Vancouver 79--Allen Iverson scored 18 points, including the last eight for the 76ers at Vancouver, Canada.

Vancouver tied a season low with nine points in the fourth quarter after leading by 14 late in the third. The Grizzlies were three for 23 from the field in the final 17 1/2 minutes.

Philadelphia is tied with Utah for the league’s best record at 16-4.

Utah 125, Golden State 114--Karl Malone scored 25 points and Bryon Russell added 23 at Salt Lake City as the Jazz beat the Warriors for the 17th consecutive time.

John Stockton added 11 points, putting him over 17,000 for his career, as Utah scored its most points of the season. Larry Hughes led the Warriors with 27 points, and Antawn Jamison had 26.

Milwaukee 99, Washington 91--Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen each scored 22 points as the Bucks withstood a strong rally by the Wizards at Milwaukee.

Richard Hamilton, who had 19 points, made four free throws and Chris Whitney made a technical foul shot as the Wizards closed to 92-86 with 3:07 left, but Tim Thomas made a three-pointer to shut off the threat.

Houston 111, Seattle 104--At Seattle, Gary Payton became the SuperSonics’ career scoring leader in a losing effort as the Rockets tied an NBA record with nine three-pointers in the second quarter and then used two clutch baskets by Steve Francis to get the win.

Payton, an 11-year veteran, supplanted Fred Brown as the No. 1 scorer in the 34-year history of the Seattle franchise. Payton’s 35 points gave him 14,044 in 808 games. Brown scored 14,018 points in 963 games from 1971-84.

Portland 114, Detroit 83--Damon Stoudamire scored 21 points and Steve Smith added 19 as the Trail Blazers won easily without Rasheed Wallace at Portland, Ore.

Wallace, the Trail Blazers’ leading scorer, did not play after spraining his right wrist in Friday night’s loss to the 76ers.

San Antonio 105, Chicago 81--Tim Duncan had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Sean Elliott and Derek Anderson each added 16 points in the Spurs’ romp at San Antonio.

Cleveland 97, Atlanta 90--Lamond Murray scored nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and made a key defensive play in the final minute as the Cavaliers won at Cleveland.