Knicks Pan The Nuggets

Ever since Latrell Sprewell scolded his teammates, the Knicks have acted like a different team.

Sprewell scored a season-high 29 points Saturday night as the Knicks won for the fifth time in six games, defeating the Denver Nuggets 96-88.

New York now has the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

"We are a team, and I felt I was a part of the problem," said Sprewell, who ripped his teammates Nov. 29 for not getting upset after they lost a home game against Miami and fell to 9-7. "I want to win, and I'm not going to allow us to go out there and not be ready.

"I want this to be a great season for us. We've been close, but we haven't gotten to the ultimate winning a championship. Getting home court advantage will go a long way toward reaching that goal."

Sprewell scored 15 of his points in the third quarter but didn't do all that much in the fourth. That task fell to Johnson, whose final 3-pointer gave New York a 92-88 lead with 49.5 seconds left.

The Knicks improved to 5-0 at home against Western Conference teams. They have held their last 16 opponents under 100 points.

"They made some big shots, but we did not want this game to get away from us," Houston said. "We felt like they were answering our plays because they made some big shots. We tried to wear them out with our defense and continue to make plays on the offensive end."

Denver, led by Nick Van Exel's 24 points, lost its third straight.

The Knicks took a seven-point lead when Spewell hit a jumper with 3:35 left to make it 87-80, but didn't score again for more than two minutes.

Van Exel hit a 3-pointer with 1:10 left to cut Denver's deficit to 89-88, but Johnson answered with a 3-pointer from the corner. Sprewell and Johnson then scored the rest of New York's points from the foul line.

Antonio McDyess had 10 points and five rebounds in the first quarter to help Denver to a 31-22 lead, but the Knicks opened the second quarter with a 13-0 run to take a 35-31 edge.

James Posey hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to put Denver ahead 47-46, but the Knicks led for most of the third quarter as Sprewell started hitting from all angles.

The Knicks took a nine-point lead into the fourth, only to see Denver start the period with a 10-0 run. Houston gave New York the lead for good on a jumper with 7:49 left.

"The difference was when they got open shots, Spree, Allan and Larry knocked them down," Denver coach Dan Issel said. "We had our opportunities, we just couldn't make a shot."

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