CLEVELAND – Quentin Richardson scored 27 points and Eddy Curry 24, 12 in the fourth quarter, to lead the New York Knicks to a 101-98 victory over Cleveland on Tuesday night, snapping the Cavaliers’ six-game home winning streak.

Curry and Jamal Crawford combined for 23 of New York’s 28 points in the fourth as the Knicks, playing their second game in two nights, improved to 5-5 on the road. Maybe they should stay away from Madison Square Garden, where they are just 1-6.

Richardson, who missed Tuesday’s game in Chicago with a strained hamstring, was 5-of-7 on 3-pointers and added nine rebounds. New York made nine 3-pointers – the biggest by Crawford with 1:46 left to put the Knicks up 97-93.

LeBron James had 27 points on 10-of-22 shooting and Drew Gooden 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers.

Curry’s three-point play with 46.5 seconds to go put the Knicks ahead by three, and New York was able to hang on despite Steve Francis missing two free throws and firing up an airball in the final 36 seconds.

Hawks 99, Bobcats 90

ATLANTA – Joe Johnson scored a season-high 36 points and Charlotte couldn’t overcome the longest field-goal drought to open an NBA game this season, helping the Atlanta Hawks beat the Bobcats 99-90 on Wednesday night.

Johnson missed his first five shots and had only two points in the opening quarter before scoring 22 in the second.

Much of Johnson’s early scoring came at the expense of Bobcats rookie Adam Morrison, who struggled keep up with the Hawks’ veteran. Johnson was 9-of-10 from the field, making all of his three 3-pointers, in the second period.

Morrison, who had scored more than 20 points in three of the last four games, was held to six points, 10 below his average.

The Hawks took a 20-point lead late in the first half and stretched the advantage to 70-46 early in the third quarter.

Charlotte cut the lead to 83-72 at the end of third period and continued the comeback in the final one as veteran Derek Anderson took over the primary defensive assignment on Johnson. Anderson, who signed on Tuesday, was making his first appearance with the team.

Mavericks 117, Raptors 98

DALLAS – Josh Howard scored 26 points and the Dallas Mavericks overcame the loss of Dirk Nowitzki to beat the Toronto Raptors 117-98 for their 11th straight win Wednesday night.

Nowitzki left the game in the first quarter with blurred vision. A team spokesperson said he was not poked in the eye but he did not return.

Nowitzki and a team trainer walked off the floor with 1:46 remaining in the first. The five-time All-Star had six points and six rebounds in 10 minutes.

Howard keyed a 12-4 run in the third with a 3-pointer and a three-point play after the Raptors rallied to cut it to 64-59.

Dallas’ Jerry Stackhouse added 23 points, Jason Terry chipped in 14, and Erick Dampier had 13 points and 14 rebounds. The Mavericks have won 22 straight games against Eastern Conference opponents.

Chris Bosh scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Toronto, which fell to 1-8 on the road.

After losing their first four games, the Mavericks have embarked on the franchise’s third-longest winning streak.

Jazz 83, Spurs 75

SALT LAKE CITY – Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 16 rebounds, Matt Harpring added 13 points and 12 boards, and the Utah Jazz beat the San Antonio Spurs 83-75 on Wednesday night to snap their two-game losing streak.

Deron Williams finished with 15 points and nine assists in Utah’s first win over San Antonio since April 2005. After being outrebounded in consecutive losses to Golden State and Orlando, the Jazz dominated the boards against the Spurs, 50-34.

Andrei Kirilenko pulled down nine rebounds and blocked three shots, all in the third quarter as the Jazz rallied from a sluggish first half and won the showdown of the teams with the top records in the Western Conference.

Tim Duncan had 21 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio, which lost for the third time in four games.

Suns 102, Rockets 91

PHOENIX – Steve Nash broke out of a bad shooting night with eight points in a 14-3 fourth-quarter run, and the Phoenix Suns won their fifth in a row with a 102-91 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

Amare Stoudemire had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Suns, who dominated the boards 55-36.

Raja Bell scored 20, Nash 17 and Leandro Barbosa 14 as Phoenix snapped the Rockets’ four-game winning streak. Shawn Marion had 13 points and 12 boards.

Tracy McGrady scored 23 points on 9-for-26 shooting for the Rockets. Rafer Alston added 16 points for Houston.

The Suns blew a 22-point first-half lead, then pulled away after Houston went up 74-72 on McGrady’s 18-footer with 9:21 to play.


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