Sprewell Enjoys Eventful Return

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 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 outbursts for the end, turning to James Dolan, chairman of the Knicks’ corporate owner, and unleashing a stream of curses after his three-point basket gave Minnesota a 94-89 lead with 1:14 left.

“He knows what I said,” Sprewell said. “I got my point across.”

Referee Dan Crawford came over and warned Sprewell to knock it off during the ensuing timeout, but Sprewell kept it up anyway and directed his next rant at the Knick bench.

The tirade earned him a technical foul that allowed New York to pull to 95-92 with 30 seconds left, but Sam Cassell wrapped up the victory with a three-pointer with 11 seconds left.

Cassell made 14 of 19 shots and also scored 31, and Kevin Garnett had 22 points and 13 rebounds.

By scoring 31, Sprewell broke the record of 28 points for an ex-Knick in his first game back set by Walt Frazier when he played for Cleveland on Oct. 25, 1977.

Allan Houston led New York with 26, and Keith Van Horn -- the player the Knicks acquired in exchange for Sprewell -- scored 20.

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Sacramento 114, Memphis 97 -- Peja Stojakovic scored a career-high 41 points, Brad Miller had his fifth consecutive double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds, and the host Kings rallied from an early 17-point deficit to beat the Grizzlies.

Portland 97, Dallas 88 -- Zach Randolph had 27 points to lead the Trail Blazers over the Mavericks at Portland. Antawn Jamison had 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Mavericks, who have lost four in a row.

Seattle 116, Phoenix 90 -- Ray Allen rejoined the SuperSonics after sitting out the first 25 games and scored 24 points in a victory over the Suns at Seattle. Joe Johnson scored 21 points to lead the Suns.

Cleveland 97, New Orleans 86 -- LeBron James scored 22 points as the Cavaliers rallied over the Hornets at Cleveland -- their third win in a row. Baron Davis had 27 points to lead New Orleans.

New Jersey 95, Chicago 78 -- Jason Kidd had 18 points and led a trio of highlight-film fast breaks in leading the Nets over the Bulls at East Rutherford, N.J. Rookie Kirk Hinrich had 17 points and Jerome Williams 15 for the Bulls.

Miami 79, Washington 72 -- Dwyane Wade scored 20 points to lead the Heat over the Wizards at Miami. Larry Hughes scored 16 points for the Wizards, who have lost 10 of 12.

Atlanta 93, Boston 88 -- Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 25 points and the Hawks took advantage of a poor shooting night by Paul Pierce to beat the Celtics at Atlanta and end a seven-game losing streak. Pierce was held to 15 points, nine below his average. Walter McCarty led Boston with 16 points.

Milwaukee 83, Detroit 78 -- Joe Smith had 18 points and a season-high 17 rebounds in the Bucks’ victory over the Pistons at Milwaukee. Richard Hamilton scored 17 points, and Ben Wallace had 16 points and 20 rebounds for Detroit.

Indiana 79, Houston 71 -- Jermaine O’Neal had 21 points and 14 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the season to lead the Pacers over the Rockets at Houston. Steve Francis led Houston with 23 points.