Houston hurt in Knicks overtime loss to Hornets

Chris Sheridan, Associated Press, New York

Allan Houston conducted his postgame interviews while standing on one foot, alternately describing the pain of his injury and the agony of another loss.

Houston came up empty in overtime Sunday as Baron Davis made all the big plays, leading the New Orleans Hornets to a 97-91 victory over the New York Knicks.

Playing with a sore right heel, Houston scored 27 but missed four of his five shots in overtime.

"I've got to knock them down, that's the bottom line," Houston said. "I can have a cast on my foot and I should be able to make those."

In the other NBA games Sunday, Sacramento beat Atlanta 105-97, and the Los Angeles Clippers edged Orlando 120-117.

The Knicks, who led by as many as 14, lost for the third time after holding a double-digit lead. They have won only once in seven games, and no relief is in sight until Latrell Sprewell returns from a broken hand next weekend.

New York was even more shorthanded than usual as Charlie Ward sat out with a bruised leg. And after Howard Eisley fouled out of the game late in the fourth quarter, the assignment of trying to defend Davis fell upon the overmatched Shandon Anderson.

Davis had five of his 24 points and two of his seven assists in overtime. The Hornets scored the final 10 points of the game.

Davis shot 10-for-23 from the field and added six rebounds as New Orleans won on the road for the first time this season. P.J. Brown added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Jamal Mashburn just missed a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

The Knicks took a four-point lead early in overtime, but Davis scored on a drive, hit a 3-pointer and assisted on a layup by Stacey Augmon that gave New Orleans its first lead of the game, 92-91.

After Houston missed a jumper, Davis fed Brown for a bank shot and a three-point lead.

"Any time I get a big guy on me I want to exploit that by getting to the hole," Davis said.

Mashburn then made the biggest defensive play of overtime, deflecting away Anderson's entry pass and then throwing a 60-foot (18-meter) pass to Augmon for a breakaway dunk and a 96-91 lead.

A missed 3-pointer by Houston ended all hope for the Knicks.

Despite a 1-for-9 start by Houston, the Knicks took a 24-17 lead after one quarter and expanded it to 50-40 by halftime as Kurt Thomas had 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

New York maintained a lead throughout the third quarter, but things changed in the fourth as New Orleans opened the quarter with a 12-4 run to pull to 75-74.

In Sacramento, California, Chris Webber scored 27 points to help the Kings improve to 4-0 at home.

Bobby Jackson had 23 points and had five steals for Sacramento, and Doug Christie added 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim made 14 of 16 free throws and finished with 32 points and seven rebounds for Atlanta.

In Orlando, Florida, Andre Miller scored 29 points as Los Angeles Clippers rallied to beat Orlando Magic.

Eric Piatkowski and Michael Olowokandi each had 21 points, Corey Maggette had 19, and Elton Brand added 16 points and 12 rebounds. Tracy McGrady scored 32 points for the Magic, and Grant Hill had 29 on 10-for-12 shooting.