Monday, Dec. 1, 2008

NEW YORK (AP) Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni glanced at the best stat line of David Lee's career and somehow managed to sound disappointed.

Flying high: Atlanta's Joe Johnson soars to the basket against the Wizards during their game on Saturday in Washington. AP PHOTO

"He should've had 50," D'Antoni said. "He should've had 50 and 28."

Against these Golden State Warriors, why not?

Chris Duhon had a franchise-record 22 assists, Lee had career highs of 37 points and 21 rebounds, and New York rang up a record-setting 82 points in the first half in a 138-125 victory over Golden State on Saturday night.

"Chris Duhon did a great job of finding me on the pick-and-roll," Lee said. "And he found me about 18 or 20 times."

Duhon set Lee up for numerous dunks against the defenseless Warriors, who completed a winless five-game Eastern trip and looked as if they couldn't wait to get home. One of the slams, with 3:11 remaining, allowed Duhon to break Richie Guerin's franchise record of 21 assists set Dec. 12, 1958.

"That's what a point guard's supposed to do, is get their team involved," Duhon said. "If I can do that every night I would love it. I love sharing the ball, I love getting those guys involved. The main important thing is that we got the win."

Lee had the first 30-20 game in regulation since Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing had 36 points and 21 rebounds against Philadelphia on Jan. 23, 1994.

The Knicks raced to an 82-64 halftime lead behind 20 points from Lee. His basket with 3.4 seconds left let New York shatter the record for most first-half points at the present Madison Square Garden, set when Kansas City scored 81 on Dec. 8, 1979.

"They had 82 points at half, so that's a lot," said Warriors guard and former Knick Jamal Crawford. "Some teams don't get that in a game. We had to do a better job defensively and work on our schemes a little bit more."

The Knicks reached 100 points with 4:58 still left in the third quarter, then Lee put an exclamation point on it with the next basket, coming up with a steal and tossing himself a self alley-oop for a dunk and a 102-84 cushion.

Al Harrington, traded from the Warriors to the Knicks last week, added 36 points and 12 rebounds. Wilson Chandler scored 16 points for the banged-up Knicks, who used only seven players. Even Duhon is hurting, sitting out practice Friday with a sore back, but that didn't stop him from repeatedly getting into the lane.

"I think Duhon is the story tonight. Wow, what a player," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "Been watching him on film and seeing him on videos, but seeing him in person is another story. Guy's got the whole package. He looked like Steve Nash out there. Unbelievable performance."

Celtics 89, Bobcats 84

In Charlotte, Paul Pierce scored 19 points, and NBA champion Boston won its eighth straight game to improve to 16-2.

Kendrick Perkins had 15 points and 12 rebounds, Ray Allen added 15 points, Tony Allen had 11, and Eddie House and Kevin Garnett 10 each.

Thunder 111, Grizzlies 103

In Memphis, Kevin Durant scored 30 points, and Jeff Green added 22 to help Oklahoma City snap a 14-game losing streak.

The victory was the Thunder's first on the road and second of the season following an 88-85 win over Minnesota on Nov. 2.

Magic 110, Pacers 96

In Orlando, Dwight Howard had a season-high 32 points and 21 rebounds and added four blocks, and Rashard Lewis had 24 points for the Magic.

Nuggets 106, Timberwolves 97

In Minneapolis, Chauncey Billups scored a season-high 27 points in three quarters, Carmelo Anthony added 25 points and 10 rebounds for Denver.

Hawks 102, Wizards 98

In Washington, Al Horford's had a tiebreaking three-point play with 12.4 seconds left for Atlanta and finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.

Nets 105, Jazz 88

In Salt Lake City, Devin Harris scored 34 points, and Vince Carter added 22 points for New Jersey, 2-1 on its four-game trip.

Deron Williams had 10 points and 13 assists for Utah.

Rockets 103, Spurs 84

In Houston, Luther Head scored 21 points in place of the injured Tracy McGrady, and Ron Artest added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets.

Mavericks 101, Kings 78

In Sacramento, Jason Terry scored 24 points, and Dirk Nowitzki had 19 points and eight rebounds to help Dallas even its record at 8-8.

Cavaliers 97, Bucks 85

In Milwaukee, LeBron James scored 11 straight points late in the fourth quarter and finished with 32 in Cleveland's win over the Bucks.

Clippers 97, Heat 96

In Los Angeles, Zach Randolph and Al Thornton each scored 27 points and combined for 21 rebounds, leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 97-96 victory over the Miami Heat on Saturday night.

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