NEW YORK (AP) -Zach Randolph had 22 points and 17 rebounds, three other players scored more than 20 points, and New York erased a series of double-digit deficits to win 119-112 Tuesday night in Denver’s first trip to Madison Square Garden since last year’s brawl.
Seemingly on the verge of being run off the floor in the same way they were before losing their cool 11 months ago, the Knicks instead blew by the Nuggets with a fourth-quarter rally, then held on behind huge plays from Randolph and Eddy Curry in their best outing since being paired together.
Jamal Crawford led the Knicks with 25 points and Curry added 24, nine in the fourth quarter. Stephon Marbury had 21 and nine assists, and Renaldo Balkman led a spirited bench effort with 11 points.
Allen Iverson scored 32 points and Carmelo Anthony had 24 for the Nuggets, who led by as many as 15 and were still ahead by 10 going to the fourth quarter before dropping their second straight.
Magic 111, Timberwolves 103
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – In a matchup of two of the best young power forwards in the game, Dwight Howard edged his classmate Al Jefferson, with 28 points and 16 rebounds in Orlando’s 111-103 victory over winless Minnesota on Tuesday night.
Carlos Arroyo had 18 points and six assists in place of an injured Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis scored nine of his 27 points in the fourth quarter for the Magic to stave off the hard-charging Timberwolves.
Jefferson was quiet for the first three quarters, managing just 13 points and four rebounds, but he scored 12 points in the fourth to help the Timberwolves make things interesting.
Marko Jaric had 10 points and 10 assists and Greg Buckner scored 18 points for the Timberwolves, who missed Rashad McCants’ offensive skills down the stretch. McCants went out in the first quarter with a sprained ankle.
Suns 115, Bobcats 83
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Leandro Barbosa, Raja Bell and Shawn Marion led eight players in double figures with 16 points apiece and Phoenix continued its dominance of the Eastern Conference.
The Bobcats, who had been 2-0 for the first time in their four-year history, trailed by as many as 34 points against the Suns. Phoenix has now won 15 of its last 16 road games against Eastern teams dating to last season.
Charlotte also lost point guard Raymond Felton to a left knee injury late in the third quarter. He was to undergo tests later Tuesday night.
Marion added 11 rebounds, while Boris Diaw had 15 points and 11 assists for the Suns. Phoenix shot 50 percent from the field, committed only 10 turnovers and made it a laugher in the second quarter despite playing without center Amare Stoudemire, who missed a second straight game with pain in his right knee.
Nets 87, Hawks 82
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) – Richard Jefferson scored 25 points and Antoine Wright added 15 to lead the New Jersey Nets to an 87-82 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.
Jason Kidd had nine points, 12 assists and nine rebounds in nearly collecting his second straight triple-double and helping New Jersey win for the third time in four games.
Vince Carter had 12 points with another miserable shooting effort from the field (6-of-16), but he made two clutch baskets late to hold off the Hawks.
Josh Smith and backup forward Josh Childress had 18 points apiece to lead the Hawks, who were limited to 38 percent shooting from the field. All-Star guard Joe Johnson added 15 points and Marvin Williams had 13, all in the first half.
Bucks 112, Raptors 85
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Desmond Mason was 10-for-10 from the field and scored 21 points.
Milwaukee, a team that didn’t shoot 60 percent or better from the field in a game all last season, shot 60.3 percent and held Toronto star Chris Bosh to one point.
The Bucks were without coach Larry Krystkowiak, who went to the hospital after his wife, Jan, went into labor with twins Tuesday afternoon. Bucks assistant Tony Brown coached the team in Krystkowiak’s absence – and presided over an offensive outburst that started early and never really let up.
For a while, it looked like the Bucks were going to have their best shooting night in more than two decades. Milwaukee was shooting over 65 percent with 5 minutes left in the game, but got sloppy at the end. Milwaukee hasn’t shot 65 percent or higher for a game since a victory over Sacramento on Dec. 15, 1985.
Toronto’s five starters combined for 28 points. Juan Dixon led the Raptors with 20 points.
Krystkowiak, in his first full year as the Bucks’ head coach after replacing Terry Stotts in the middle of last season, was there for the birth of his twin daughters at 7:42 p.m.
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