ESPN Network: ESPN.com | NFL.com | NBA.com | NHL.com | WNBA.com | ABCSports | EXPN | FANTASY | INSIDER

  Scores/Schedules
  Standings
  Statistics
  Transactions
  Injuries
  Players
  Message Board
  NBA StatSearch
  NBA en espaņol
Clubhouses






Thursday, Mar. 1 7:30pm ET
Camby helps Van Gundy climb victory list

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

NEW YORK (AP) – Jeff Van Gundy 224, Pat Riley 223.

Latrell Sprewell
The Knicks' Latrell Sprewell, right, drives to the hoop in front of the Celtics' Eric Williams.
Van Gundy surpassed Riley to become the third-winningest coach in Knicks history as Marcus Camby scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to help New York outlast Boston 95-88 Thursday night.

"Everybody knows how I feel about coach Riley. I think he's the best coach in team sports history," Van Gundy said. "I'm honored to coach here in New York, I like the guys on the team and love the guys I work for in Scott (Layden) and Dave Checketts and I feel very fortunate that I'm here."

In his sixth season as head coach, Van Gundy still trails Joe Lapchick (326) and Red Holzman (613) for career coaching victories in New York. He has a career winning percentage of .596 (224-152).

"Sometimes I'm disappointed in myself when I can't get them to play at the level they need to play at," Van Gundy said. "So that's sometimes the frustrating part of coaching."

That was the case in this game as the Knicks, despite controlling things through the first three quarters and leading by as many as 16, found themselves leading by just one point after Antoine Walker hit two free throws with 5:36 left.

Camby tipped in his own miss to make it 87-84, and Walker missed a pair of free throws for Boston. Camby then got his third assist, threading a pass underneath to Larry Johnson for a layup and a five-point lead.

Pierce missed a tough shot inside and the Knicks pushed the ball upcourt to Latrell Sprewell for a jumper. A bad pass by Eric Williams led to a fast-break layup by Sprewell for a nine-point lead with 2:59 left.

The Celtics pulled back within five and had a chance to get within three after forcing a 24-second violation, but Randy Brown missed two free throws with 16.4 seconds left to end their last hope.

"We missed some timely free throws," Walker said. "It was a tough loss."

Johnson added 21 points, Kurt Thomas had 16 and Sprewell 13 for the Knicks, who won their third straight. Camby reached double figures in rebounds for the eighth consecutive game.

"With Marcus, the stats are unbelievable. The numbers are really unbelievable numbers," Van Gundy said. "What I think you are seeing is a player who has improved consistently from the first day he has been here and has made a major jump this year."

Paul Pierce had 23 points and Eric Williams 21 for the Celtics, who lost their fifth consecutive road game and dropped to 13-11 since Jim O'Brien replaced Rick Pitino as head coach.

Game notes
O'Brien said the team has no interest in signing point guard Rod Strickland if he clears waivers. ... Brown started at the point for Boston and had two points on 1-for-6 shooting with three assists. Knicks point guard Mark Jackson shot 1-for-8 and had nine assists... Camby's previous season high was 24 points at Detroit on Feb. 21.

Send this story to a friend
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Boston Clubhouse

New York Clubhouse

RECAPS
Seattle 101
Cleveland 99

New York 95
Boston 88

Houston 108
Milwaukee 91

San Antonio 91
Phoenix 71

Portland 94
LA Clippers 81


ESPN.com:  HELP |  ADVERTISER INFO |  CONTACT US |  TOOLS |  SITE MAP
Copyright ©2000 ESPN Internet Group. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Employment opportunities at ESPN.com.