NEW YORK – Stephon Marbury scored a season-high 27 points to help New York beat the Portland Trail Blazers 103-92 on Sunday, giving coach Larry Brown his first Knicks victory at Madison Square Garden.
Marbury’s cousin Sebastian Telfair had a career-high 27 points for the Blazers in his return home.
Channing Frye added 20 points and Jamal Crawford had 19 for New York. Zach Randolph had 17 points and Darius Miles added 16 for the Blazers, who opened a seven-game road trip.
Marbury left the game with 44.2 seconds left and New York leading 103-92, drawing a standing ovation. Brown had hoped Marbury would be more aggressive, and his star responded with 14 points in the first half.
The Knicks (3-7) used a 16-5 run over the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter to turn a 70-69 deficit into a 85-75 lead. Frye had eight points during that span.
Juan Dixon had 11 points in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers, to try and keep the Blazers (3-5) close. But the Trail Blazers could get no closer than seven points.
Telfair had 19 points in the first half, including 13 in the second quarter. The guard from Brooklyn hit two 3-pointers and an acrobatic drive to help Portland take a 57-54 lead at the half. The Trail Blazers shot 58.8 percent (20-for-34) in the first 24 minutes.
Eddy Curry kept the Knicks close with 12 points in the first half, but didn’t return. He has been slowed by a calf injury.
Notes: The Knicks were forced to play at noon after returning from a 2-4 Western trip because the New York Rangers were playing Sunday night and the Madison Square Garden floor had to be changed to ice. “Having six games in 10 days and then having a 12 o’clock game is a little unusual,” Brown said. … Frye is the first Knicks rookie to lead the team in scoring more than once in a season since Mark Jackson did it 11 times in the 1987-88 season. … The Blazers have won seven of the last 11 against the Knicks. … Knicks guard Quentin Richardson did not play because of back spasms. … Telfair’s previous career high was 23 points against Charlotte last season.
AP-ES-11-20-05 1441EST
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