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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Latrell Sprewell makes news every time he comes home to Wisconsin these days. At least this time it was good news.
Allan Houston had 25 points and Sprewell, anticipating a possible visit from the local police, had 23 as the New York Knicks
beat the Milwaukee Bucks 84-80 Thursday night.
|  | | The Bucks could slow Latrell Sprewell, but they couldn't stop him. Sprewell scored 23 points for the Knicks. |
The New York Daily News reported authorities might try to give
Sprewell a summons in a civil suit against him stemming from a 1998
boating accident at nearby Lake Pewaukee. Sprewell owns a home in
his native Milwaukee.
Sprewell, who estimated he had 50 friends and relatives in the
stands, wasn't served before or during the game, and no one
approached him as he boarded the Knicks' bus to the airport.
"Nothing happened," he said. "I don't know if something will
or not."
Sprewell was pulled over for speeding on the I-94 between
Milwaukee and Chicago earlier this year. He also made a stop at his
Milwaukee home to visit his newborn child during a mysterious
cross-country drive this fall -- when he should have been attending
Knicks training camp in South Carolina.
"It's always nice to come back here and play in front of
friends and family," he said. "It was even nicer for us to get a
win against a good team like Milwaukee and get back on track."
He and Houston led the Knicks' scoring attack against the
cold-shooting Bucks, who didn't look much like the team that led
the league in scoring earlier this year.
The Knicks also were buoyed by the return of Marcus Camby, who has missed a number of games with tendonitis in his left knee.
Camby had 13 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes of play.
"I felt surprisingly good out there," Camby said. "Hopefully, I'm getting better."
"When a guy comes in and gives that kind of effort, it turns a game around," Sprewell said. "You can imagine what he can give us when he's completely healthy."
New York's defensive pressure made the difference as the Bucks
committed 15 turnovers and shot 32 percent from the field. Glenn
Robinson missed the game with a calf bruise, and Tim Thomas was
4-of-14 from the floor as his replacement.
Ray Allen led the Bucks with 25 points, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"You've got to give the Knicks some credit," said Sam Cassell, who had 16 points but just four assists. "They came in and took
one. They took us out of the things we wanted to do."
The injury-depleted Knicks (9-8) avoided falling below .500 and
stayed in second place in the Atlantic Division. New York rebounded
with a gritty defensive effort one game after an embarrassing 74-70
loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Milwaukee hadn't scored fewer than 94 points in a game this
season until the last two, in which the Bucks had 79 and 77,
respectively. The Bucks, who missed a chance to move into first
place in the Central Division, lost for the third time in four home
games after starting the season 4-0 at the Bradley Center.
The Bucks went scoreless in a 3:49 stretch spanning the third
and fourth quarters, and the Knicks made an 11-0 run to a 68-58
lead with 10:10 left. Milwaukee closed within 77-73 with three
minutes left, but Dale Ellis missed two wide-open 3-pointers, and Houston and Sprewell hit shots to seal the win.
Robinson, the Bucks' second-leading scorer and leading
rebounder, didn't dress because of a bruised right calf. Robinson
suffered the injury in practice on Monday and hadn't practiced all
week.
Game notes
Reports that Patrick Ewing might return to the Knicks' lineup proved untrue. Ewing sat next to Larry Johnson in street
clothes. John Wallace wasn't with the Knicks for what the team said were personal reasons. ... The Knicks have played a league-high 12
of their first 17 games on the road, where they are 5-7. ... New
York beat Milwaukee 111-101 in overtime earlier this year. ... The
game was stopped with 1:37 to play while the Knicks argued that an
earlier shot by Charlie Ward had been a 3-pointer. The officials
kept it as a 2-pointer.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
New York Clubhouse
Milwaukee Clubhouse
RECAPS
Atlanta 110
Sacramento 100
San Antonio 96
New Jersey 94
New York 84
Milwaukee 80
Orlando 103
Minnesota 93
Dallas 101
Chicago 95
Seattle 117
Golden State 108
Houston 109
LA Clippers 96
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Marcus Camby slams home the missed shot.
avi: 665 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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