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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Latrell Sprewell wanted to "crush" the Golden State Warriors, and he let his teammates in on his bitter
reunion with P.J. Carlesimo.
Sprewell, eating up the boos and rebuking those who jeered,
scored 14 points and kept up a steady supply of chest-bumping and
hand-slapping encouragement for teammates as the New York Knicks
beat the Golden State Warriors 86-79 Saturday night.
|  | | Latrell Sprewell and Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo still don't see eye to eye. |
"It was about winning," Sprewell said. "It was what I
expected. I could have played better, but as long as we won, it's
OK. I've heard it all before. There's nothing original. It's pretty
much the same old stuff."
Near the end of the game, a group of fans began a derisive chant about Sprewell, and he answered them moments later, driving past Chris Mills for an emphatic dunk and running by the Warriors bench in celebration.
"That was the highlight of my night," Sprewell said. "I
didn't say anything. I just wanted to show them I was here, make a
little bit of eye contact with everybody on the team."
Sprewell was taken out of the game with less than a minute to
play after he and Mills got technical fouls for shoving each other.
Sprewell pointed to the scoreboard while sitting on the bench as
the chanting continued.
The tension-filled game marked the first meeting between
Sprewell and Carlesimo since the star guard choked his former coach
in a burst of anger at a Warriors practice two years ago. And it's
evident they are still worlds apart and apparently will remain so.
Carlesimo had expressed hopes of shaking hands with Sprewell
during pregame introductions in order to bring some closure to the
episode.
But Sprewell stayed by the Knicks' basket and the Warriors
coach, who drew a smattering of boos himself during his
introduction, was left standing by himself at midcourt. He returned
to the bench for the start of the game.
"There's no obligation on his part to do that," Carlesimo said
afterward. "If the opportunity was there, yeah, I would have been
happy to shake his hand. But it's not like he didn't do the right
thing."
Sprewell said this week he hoped to "crush" the Warriors on
his return. He continues to believe he was mistreated by Carlesimo
and the Warriors organization, which he said ignored his complaints
about his overbearing coaching style.
Before the game, Sprewell, was greeted by cheers, applause and
chants of "Spree!, Spree!" upon taking the floor Saturday night
for pregame warmups. But he ignored a child who sought his
autograph by dangling his old Golden State Warriors jersey over a
railing.
Then, he got in a brief shouting match with a heckler who came
to courtside and yelled repeatedly, "Spree, who are you going to
sue now?"
Sprewell stopped taking his practice shots for a moment, turned
toward the heckler and told the fan to shut up and used an
expletive.
Security guards escorted the heckler away from courtside and
other fans shouted him down, one yelling, "Don't worry about it,
Spree. Go for 40 tonight."
Sprewell took the game's first shot and missed badly, with one
fan yelling "Nice shot, Spree!" Fans booed each time Sprewell
touched the ball.
But Sprewell shook off the mixed reception as well as aggressive
double teams by the Warriors and helped the Knicks break on top
early with an 18-3 run at the end of the first quarter during which
he handed out three assists.
After consecutive follow slams by Chris Dudley, Sprewell bumped
chests with him and ran over to Charlie Ward to pat him on the back
after he hit a 3-pointer.
Near the end of the game, Adonal Foyle fouled him on a drive to the basket and the crowd began roaring as Sprewell went to the foul line.
Sprewell, acquired in a January trade that sent Mills, John
Starks and Terry Cummings to Golden State, waved his hands and the
roar of boos and cheers became crescendo.
Then he calmly made the second free throw after missing the
first as the Knicks used a strong finish to win their fourth
straight in Oakland.
Houston scored 24 to lead the Knicks. Donyell Marshall had 19 points for the Warriors and Mills finished with 17.
Game notes
Knicks forward Larry Johnson missed his second straight game with back spasms. ... Chris Childs turned 32 Saturday. ... The Knicks are 5-5 in back-to-back games ... Golden State is 2-3 since an 0-4 start. ... This was the first game for Starks against his former Knicks team. He spent eight years in New York, earning a trip to the All-Star game and the NBA's Sixth Man Award along the way.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
New York Clubhouse
Golden State Clubhouse
Sprewell gets mixed reaction on return to Oakland
RECAPS
LA Clippers 98
Washington 89
Orlando 107
Atlanta 103
Portland 100
Charlotte 96
Indiana 107
Cleveland 98
Miami 110
Boston 92
Philadelphia 100
New Jersey 96
Utah 111
Milwaukee 100
San Antonio 106
Dallas 90
Denver 95
Chicago 86
Seattle 110
Houston 107
New York 86
Golden State 79
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