• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Harrington torches former team as Knicks roll past Pacers

Feb 1, 2009 - 4:01 AM INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- In familiar territory, Al Harrington helped the New York Knicks head into perhaps their toughest week of the season on a high note.

Harrington scorched his old team for 31 points as the Knicks started fast and held off the Indiana Pacers, 122-113, on Saturday.

David Lee collected 23 points and 17 rebounds for his 35th double-double - tied for the league-lead with Dwight Howard - for the Knicks, who have won six of their last seven games.

"I'm pleased with the way we are playing," Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni said. "The guys are working hard and playing well. We'll won't look back, we'll look forward. We want to make the playoffs and we've said that all along."

In 1998, Harrington was drafted in the first round by Donnie Walsh while New York's current general manager was at the helm in Indiana. Harrington played his first six seasons with the Pacers.

"That's what was on my mind," Harrington said. "I wanted to win the game for (Walsh), just to put a smile on his face. It's always the sweetest revenge when you come in and win a game against your former team."

Harrington and the Knicks will face much tougher competition in the coming days, as they take on the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics - all at home - next week.

"We're not at the point where we can come out and beat teams just because we've been playing well," Lee said. "We need to bring our best ball. If we take it one game at a time this week, I think we can do well against those three teams."

In this one, New York led, 67-55, at halftime and used a 12-5 run to open up the third quarter to take a commanding 79-60 advantage on Harrington's 3-pointer with 9:12 left.

Wilson Chandler and Nate Robinson combined for 30 points off the bench for the Knicks, who shot 15-of-34 from the arc.

T.J. Ford scored 36 points for Indiana, which had its seven-game home winning streak snapped.

The Pacers made a final push in the fourth quarter, when they forced a pair of timeouts by the Knicks after cutting their deficit to single digits twice.

Granger hit a three to make it 111-103 with 3:03 left, but New York responded with a three from Harrington after time was halted.

Ford also cut the deficit to seven on a layup with 54 seconds left. The Knicks, however, broke the Pacers' press out of the timeout, allowing Robinson to find Harrington for an uncontested dunk to effectively seal the win.

"Al really hurt us because we were late on some rotations," Ford said. "We were not even close."

The Knicks led by one after the first quarter before outscoring the Pacers, 38-27, in the second. They started their unselfish play in the period and carried it through the rest of the contest, amassing 29 assists on their 46 field goals.

It's that type of play that has New York rising in the Eastern Conference, where it has emerged as a legitimate playoff contender.

The Knicks, who have won three straight, have boosted their bench by moving Chandler out of the starting lineup and pairing him with the energetic Robinson to provide one of the more athletic second units in the league.

That style took a toll on the Pacers, who have been busy recently.

"That's a tough style to play against with our fourth game in five nights," Indiana coach Jim O'Brien said. "They shot the lights out, but our guys never gave up. Give New York credit."