Red-hot forward Al Harrington scored 24 points, including 13 in the key fourth quarter, to help the New York Knicks beat the New Orleans Hornets 117-111 on Monday for their first victory of the NBA season.
The Knicks made 15 free throws in the final period and produced 40 points and withstood 32 points and 13 assists from New Orleans point guard Chris Paul.
Big man David Lee had 28 points and eight rebounds for New York (1-3), which used a 10-2 run midway through the fourth to turn a two-point lead into a 102-92 advantage with 4:09 left.
Harrington enjoyed his second straight strong performance after coming off the bench to score 42 points in the Knicks’ loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
New York had dropped successive games in overtime before finally breaking through against the Hornets.
New York started the game with a 16-6 run and led 58-52 at half-time. The Hornets snatched control of the game in the third where Paul tallied 11 points before finishing the night with season highs in points and assists.
Center Emeka Okafor, acquired in the off-season, had 24 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double with New Orleans while forward David West had 21.
Meanwhile, Gerald Wallace had 24 points and 20 rebounds and the Charlotte Bobcats held the New Jersey Nets without a point for more than 10 minutes during a 79-68 victory.
The Nets’ ineptitude allowed Charlotte to go on a 24-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters in the longest scoring drought in the NBA in nearly four years. D.J. Augustin added 21 points for the Bobcats.
In one brutal stretch, the Nets lost Yi Jianlian to a sprained right knee and went nearly 11 and a half minutes without a field goal. The Nets went 0-for-11 from the field with nine turnovers before Chris Douglas-Roberts’ three-point play.
Douglas-Roberts had 20 points and Brook Lopez added 18.
In other games it was:
• Rockets 113, Jazz 96
• Kings 127, Grizzlies 116, OT
• Clippers 93, Timberwolves 90
RSS