Houston’s 36 Points Too Much for Spurs

Allan Houston can’t seem to miss these days, helping the New York Knicks stay in the playoff picture.

Houston scored 36 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, as the visiting New York Knicks defeated San Antonio, 105-97, Tuesday night to end the Spurs’ six-game winning streak.

Houston was coming off a 50-point performance in a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. He made six three-point baskets to help New York move within two games of Milwaukee and Washington for the eighth playoff spot in the East.

“He’s in a zone right now, and that’s good to see. It was a great win for us and allowed us to finally gain some ground,” Latrell Sprewell said.

Tim Duncan had 27 points for the Spurs despite being listed as questionable before the game because of a sprained right ankle.

“I went through a little workout this afternoon and it felt really good,” Duncan said. “It felt fine and I wasn’t bothered with it.”

The loss left the Spurs 3 1/2 games behind the Dallas Mavericks in the Midwest Division. The teams play Thursday.

The Knicks, who were down by 15 early in the third, opened the fourth quarter with a 14-4 run and took the lead on Houston’s three-pointer that made it 83-82 with 7:09 left.

Dallas 114, Cleveland 93 -- Steve Nash came back after a one-point first half and scored 18 during a third-quarter surge at Dallas to lead the Mavericks. Dallas improved its league-best record to 51-16, moving within six victories of matching last season’s franchise-best total with 15 games left.

Sacramento 117, Golden State 91 -- Scot Pollard had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Peja Stojakovic scored 20 points to lead seven Kings in double figures at Sacramento for their 14th consecutive victory over the Warriors.

Seattle 100, Houston 94 -- Rashard Lewis scored 25 points and Ray Allen had 23 at Seattle to lead the SuperSonics. Seattle has won three of four games to move within four games of Houston and Phoenix for the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

New Jersey 87, Boston 74 -- Richard Jefferson matched his career-high with 27 points at Boston and the Nets beat the Celtics for the second time in six days. New Jersey has won only four of its last 12 games.

Detroit 94, Washington 90 -- Richard Hamilton damaged his former team’s playoff prospects by scoring six of his 16 points in overtime at Washington. The Wizards fell back into a tie with Milwaukee for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Philadelphia 103, Miami 83 -- Allen Iverson scored 32 points at Miami and the 76ers improved to 15-2 since the All-Star break. Philadelphia led by at least eight points throughout the second half.

Minnesota 96, Memphis 80 -- Kevin Garnett made eight consecutive shots in the second half and finished with 29 points and 19 rebounds at Minneapolis. The Timberwolves ended the Grizzlies’ six-game winning streak. It was Garnett’s 18th consecutive double-double.

Utah 99, Denver 81 -- Matt Harpring scored 22 points and Karl Malone had 18 while collecting his 5,000th career assist at Salt Lake City. The Jazz led by double digits for almost all of the final three quarters.

Chicago 103, Atlanta 78 -- Jalen Rose broke out of his scoring slump with 31 points in a victory at Chicago that ended a three-game losing streak for the Bulls. Rose had been held under 20 the previous three games.