SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Donte Greene
made six 3-pointers and tied a career high with 24 points, and the
Sacramento Kings never trailed in a 111-97 victory over the New York
Knicks on Wednesday night.
Leading by 10 points at the half, the
Kings built the margin to 93-73 with an impressive third quarter and
the lead remained in double figures the rest of the game.
Rookie Tyreke Evans had 19 points, 11
rebounds and seven assists for Sacramento, which snapped a four-game
losing streak. It was the first time in eight games that the rookie
from Memphis failed to score 20 or more.
David Lee had 25 points and 12
rebounds for the struggling Knicks. Nate Robinson also scored 25 points
and Al Harrington added 17 for New York, which shot 38 percent.
Spencer Hawes scored 16 points and
Sergio Rodriguez had 15 for the Kings, who recorded a rare win at home
over an Eastern Conference team. Sacramento had lost 18 straight dating
to a victory over Toronto on March 16, 2008.
The loss was the third straight and ninth in 11 games for the Knicks, who are off to their worst start since the 1985-86 season.
Making only his third start of the
season, Greene made a statement for increased playing time. He had
career highs of six blocks and five assists. Greene hit all five shots
in the third quarter, including three 3-pointers as the Kings outscored
New York 32-22.
Injured in Tuesday's game against the
Lakers, Eddy Curry missed the game with a sore left knee. Curry, who
played in only three games for a total of 11 minutes last year due to
injury, had played in the previous four games.
Hawes scored 13 points in the first
half, helping the Kings to a 61-51 lead. Both Robinson and Lee scored
15 points for the Knicks, who shot 36 percent and missed 15 of 20
3-pointers.
Notes
Kings point guard Beno Udrih
was sick and didn't play. The Knicks shot 10 of 39 from 3-point
territory. Sacramento is now 5-2 at home.