Knicks Win Another Overtime Thriller

The Miami Heat lost Dwyane Wade to a sprained wrist, while the New York Knicks overcame Richard Hamilton's 51 points to win another overtime thriller. <br/><br/>After Wade went down in the first quarter,

Thursday, December 28th 2006, 6:11 am

By: News On 6

The Miami Heat lost Dwyane Wade to a sprained wrist, while the New York Knicks overcame Richard Hamilton's 51 points to win another overtime thriller.

After Wade went down in the first quarter, Ben Gordon scored a career-high 40 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 109-103 victory over the visiting Heat on Wednesday night.

Wade injured his right wrist midway through the first as he was coming off a screen. Miami coach Pat Riley blamed Kirk Hinrich, saying the Chicago guard pulled Wade's hand in a tactic the officials can't see.

Wade, the MVP of last season's NBA finals, initially stayed in the game, then came out after the next timeout. He went to the locker room for X-rays, which were negative, and didn't return. He was to have an MRI on Thursday.

The All-Star guard had an injury to his right wrist this summer.

``It felt like my wrist got pulled out of place. It's pretty painful. It feels like it got yanked out of the socket. I don't have any strength in it. I knew I was done,'' said Wade, who left the arena with his wrist wrapped.

Gordon became the first Bulls player to score 40 points in a game since Elton Brand had 44 in April 2000 against Washington. Andres Nocioni added 16 for Chicago, which recovered after blowing a 20-point lead. The Bulls have won 14 of 17 overall and are 12-3 in December.

The Knicks are having an exciting month, too.

They withstood their third overtime game in 10 days and third this season of two or more extra sessions, outlasting Hamilton and the Detroit Pistons 151-145 in triple overtime at Madison Square Garden.

Channing Frye forced the third overtime with a buzzer-beating jumper, Jamal Crawford took over from there and the Knicks improved to 4-0 in OT this season.

Throw in a triple-overtime victory over Phoenix last January, and obviously the Knicks know what they're doing when the games drag past 48 minutes.

``We don't want to give Coach a heart attack, but we have shown we can win in these type of situations,'' Crawford said.

In other games, it was: the Los Angeles Lakers 106, Orlando 93; Cleveland 89, Atlanta 76; Toronto 100, Minnesota 97; Washington 114, Charlotte 107; Houston 96, New Jersey 71; Milwaukee 112, Memphis 96; Sacramento 101, Philadelphia 76; Portland 100, New Orleans 85; and the Los Angeles Clippers 100, Boston 77.

The Knicks won despite Hamilton's career-high 51 points, the first 50-point game against them since Michael Jordan accomplished the feat in 1997. They have won a pair of triple-overtime games this season, having beaten Memphis in the season-opener on Nov. 1.

Crawford finished with 29 points, nine in the third overtime. He carried the Knicks after Stephon Marbury fouled out with a season-high 41 points in the second extra period, leaving the already short-handed Knicks with only two available guards.

``I gave them an A-plus plus,'' New York coach Isiah Thomas said. ``The Pistons are very good. They are playing at a very high level right now. Our guys were very resilient in terms of their fight. They just wouldn't quit.''

Eddy Curry scored 33 points and Frye added 26 for the Knicks. Crawford had a season-high 11 assists _ the final one setting up Frye's jumper at the end of the second OT.

The Knicks won a pair of OT thrillers last week, with Marbury beating Utah at the buzzer and David Lee's tip at the end of the second extra period knocking off Charlotte.

New York shot 56 percent Wednesday and ending Detroit's five-game winning streak.

At Chicago, Gordon didn't appreciate Riley's comments after the game, especially since Heat forward James Posey was ejected for taking down Luol Deng from behind in the fourth quarter.

``I heard him saying something about Kirk. Posey's was way more blatant. I don't think Kirk did anything. He was just playing aggressive defense. Kirk didn't do anything dirty. I don't appreciate him taking shots at our guys,'' Gordon said.

Posey also knocked down Hinrich in the playoffs last season and was suspended for one game.

Lakers 106, Magic 93

Kobe Bryant scored 27 points and Smush Parker added a season-high 20 for visiting Los Angeles.

Wizards 114, Bobcats 107

Gilbert Arenas scored 39 points and outdueled Gerald Wallace down the stretch to help visiting Washington earn its fourth straight victory. The Wizards became the first NBA team in 12 seasons to score 106 or more points in 12 consecutive games.

Wallace scored 40 points _ one shy of his career high _ and added 14 rebounds and six steals for Charlotte.

Cavaliers 89, Hawks 76

LeBron James scored 27 points and Cleveland handed host Atlanta its fifth consecutive loss.

The Cavs, who had only three victories in their previous 11 road games this season, won for the sixth straight time in Atlanta. The Cavaliers snapped a four-game road skid.

The Hawks have lost nine of 10 overall.

Rockets 96, Nets 71

Shane Battier hit a career-high seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points to lead visiting Houston. Tracy McGrady added 17 points and six assists for the Rockets.

Raptors 100, Timberwolves 97

T.J. Ford scored 28 points and Anthony Parker added 19 for host Toronto, which is 6-4 without leading scorer Chris Bosh (left knee injury).

Bucks 112, Grizzlies 96

Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd each scored 20 points to help visiting Milwaukee win its sixth straight. The Bucks are on their longest winning streak in four years. The Grizzlies have lost five in a row and 14 of 16.

Kings 101, 76ers 76

Ron Artest provided a spark in his return to the lineup and Mike Bibby had 21 points and six assists for host Sacramento.

Artest played hard in 34 minutes after missing two games with sore knees. He had 10 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

Trail Blazers 100, Hornets 85

Zach Randolph had 26 points and 11 rebounds to help host Portland beat short-handed New Orleans.

The Hornets were without Chris Paul, who sprained his ankle Tuesday night at Seattle, as well as Bobby Jackson (cracked rib), David West (elbow) and Peja Stojakovic (back). The Hornets have lost 14 of 17, and six straight on the road.

Clippers 100, Celtics 77

Elton Brand had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Tim Thomas also scored 25 and the Kings snapped a four-game home losing streak by beating undermanned Boston.

The winning margin was the largest by the Clippers' franchise against Boston. They won for only the second time in nine games overall despite the absence of point guard Sam Cassell (left heel).

The Celtics played their third straight game without leading scorer Paul Pierce, expected to be sidelined at least another week because of a stress reaction in his left foot. Boston has lost four in a row after winning five straight.