Latrell Sprewell made a lot of noise in his return to Madison Square Garden, cursing at the Knicks' owner, screaming at their bench and yelling in triumph after the best comeback game by any player to have spent at least five seasons in New York.
Sprewell scored 31 points in between his yells and taunts to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves over the team that traded him last summer, 98-92 Tuesday night.
Sprewell saved his biggest outburst for the end, too, turning to James Dolan, the chairman of the team's corporate owner, Cablevision, and unleashing a stream of curses after his 3-pointer gave Minnesota a 94-89 lead with 1:14 left.
PHOTO: AFP
He was warned by referee Dan Crawford to knock if off, but kept it up and directed his next rant at the Knicks' bench.
The tirade earned him a technical foul that allowed New York to pull to 95-92 with 30.4 seconds left, but Sam Cassell wrapped up the victory on a 3-pointer with 11.3 seconds remaining. Cassell finished with 31 points.
Allan Houston had 26 points as the Knicks played their first game under the leadership of new team president Isiah Thomas.
PHOTO: EPA
Hawks 93, Celtics 88
In Atlanta, Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 25 points and the Hawks took advantage of a poor shooting night by Paul Pierce to beat Boston and end a seven-game losing streak.
Dion Glover scored 18 points and Stephen Jackson added 16 for Atlanta, which won for the first time since beating Denver on Dec. 9. The losing streak was their longest since they lost 10 straight in 2001. They haven't won back-to-back games this season.
Walter McCarty led Boston with 16 points. Pierce made only four of 16 shots from the field and was held to 15 points, nine below his average.
Cavaliers 97, Hornets 86
In Cleveland, Rookie LeBron James scored 22 points and Eric Williams scored 13 of his 16 in the fourth quarter when the Cavaliers rallied for their third straight win.
The Cavaliers have won three in a row for the first time since April 6-10, 2002 -- a span of 113 games.
James took over in the third quarter, scoring 11 points, and Williams carried Cleveland in the fourth when the Cavs stepped it up on the defensive end to turn things around and give coach Paul Silas a win over his former team.
Baron Davis had 27 points to lead New Orleans, but shot just 4-of-22 from the field.
Heat 79, Wizards 72
In Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead Miami over Washington.
Eddie Jones added 11 points, and Lamar Odom and Rafer Alston each had 10 for the Heat, who have won five straight at home.
Reserve Rasual Butler scored all nine of his points in the fourth quarter as the Heat rallied from a 52-44 deficit late in the third quarter with a 27-13 run. The scoring surge lasted into the first eight minutes of the fourth period.
Larry Hughes scored 16 points for the Wizards, who have lost 10 of 12.
Nets 95, Bulls 78
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Jason Kidd had 18 points and led a trio of highlight-film fast breaks in leading New Jersey over Chicago.
Richard Jefferson added six of his 26 points in a game-breaking 11-point run to start the fourth quarter and the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions won for the seventh time in nine games.
Kenyon Martin, who twisted his ankle on the opening tip-off, had 16 points and nine rebounds, and New Jersey shot 48.7 percent from the field and limited Chicago to 37.2 percent in extending its home winning streak to a season-high six games.
Rookie Kirk Hinrich had 17 points and Jerome Williams 15 for the banged-up Bulls, who lost their fourth straight overall and ninth in a row on the road.
Bucks 83, Pistons 78
In Milwaukee, Joe Smith had 18 points, including a three-point play with 59 seconds left, and a season-high 17 rebounds in the Bucks' win.
Redd had 18 points and Mason added 15 for Milwaukee, which climbed back to .500 for the first time since Dec. 2, improving to 14-14 with its fifth win in seven games.
Richard Hamilton scored 17 points, Ben Wallace had 16 points and 20 rebounds, and Mehmet Okur had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Detroit, which has lost six of eight. The Pistons' leading scorer, Chauncey Billups, missed 11 of 14 shots and finished with seven points.
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