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Marbury, Knicks upstage Hamilton's 51-point outburst

Dec 28, 2006 - 6:37 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Stephon Marbury and the New York Knicks seem to gain more confidence after regulation.

Marbury scored a season-high 41 points to lead five players in double figures as the New York Knicks posted a 151-145 triple-overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons, who wasted a career-best 51 by Richard Hamilton.

Eddy Curry scored 33 points and Jamal Crawford added 26 and a season-high 11 assists for the Knicks, who outscored the Pistons, 14-8, in the third extra session and improved to 4-0 in overtime games this season.

"We played hard. We didn't play smart," Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said. "We didn't make good decisions down the stretch. We had opportunities to win the game but we just made bad decisions. I can't fault our effort. It was a great game to win and a tough game to lose."

"You can't let your highs get too high and your lows get too low because the game's a roller coaster," Crawford said. "You got to enjoy it."

New York captured back-to-back overtime triumphs over Utah and Charlotte last week.

"We don't want to give Coach a heart attack," said, Crawford, who scored eight points in the final OT. "We have shown we can win these type of situations."

Hamilton connected on 19-of-37 shots from the floor and made all 12 of his free throws for Detroit, which had its five-game winning streak snapped.

"We had more than one opportunity to win. It was a silly game," Hamilton said. "We made bonehead moves down the stretch. We're better than that. We know what it takes to win games down the stretch and we kind of didn't do it."

It was the first time the Knicks allowed at least 50 points by one player since Michael Jordan did it in 1997 and the first at Madison Square Garden since Jordan's 55-point performance on March 28, 1995.

Detroit pulled to 146-145 with 56 seconds remaining, but Crawford sank a technical foul shot and Channing Frye made a pair of free throws in the closing moments to keep the Pistons at bay.

Frye scored 26 points and David Lee chipped in 11 and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who were able to send the game into the third OT on Frye's deep jumper as time expired.

"That's the first time I've ever done that in my career," Frye said. "In college and high school. I think maybe in second grade, the first time I started playing, I think I got a rebound and put it back. I just shot it. I knew our team needed that shot and I was open."

Marbury drained a shot from the arc as the buzzer sounded, helping the Knicks hold a 61-60 advantage at intermission. He shot 13-of-23 and handed out eight assists before fouling out in the second overtime.

"This has definitely been an exciting game for us to win, especially as a Knick," Marbury said. "I think we never thought we were going to lose. We always thought we were going to win. We played well down the stretch and guys made plays when they were supposed to."

Nazr Mohammed had 18 points and a season-high 14 rebounds and Chauncey Billups added 17 points and 10 assists for the Pistons, who shot 43 percent (54-of-123).

"It was definitely a long game. (It was) a lot of fun," Billups said. "It was a fun game. I wish we'd have come out on top."

Detroit forward Carlos Delfino's 3-pointer from the left wing with five seconds left sent the contest into the first extra session.