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Pierce, Wizards run past Knicks

Nov 5, 2014 - 5:06 AM New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Paul Pierce and Garrett Temple scored 17 points apiece to lead a balanced effort as the Washington Wizards defeated the New York Knicks, 98-83, on Tuesday.

Kevin Seraphin tallied 15 points off the bench, Andre Miller contributed 12 points in a reserve role and John Wall added 11 points with a team-high seven assists in the win.

Drew Gooden added 10 points for the Wizards, who have won three straight. Washington had not won three of its first four games to start the season since 2005-06.

The Wizards have also had New York's number over the past year, winning four straight overall and three in a row at Madison Square Garden.

"Guys like me, Andre (Miller) and Drew (Gooden), we are the vets. We're the oldest on this team," said Pierce. "We kind of bring a calmness to this ball club. I think we have a great mix of youth and veteran guys that gives us an even keel."

Iman Shumpert and Carmelo Anthony were the lone Knicks in double figures, scoring 19 and 18, respectively.

Pierce knocked down a pair of free throws to begin the third quarter to start a 14-3 run and give the Wizards a 54-48 lead. Pierce capped it with a four- point play after he buried a contested 3-pointer in front of Shane Larkin.

Larkin answered at the other end with a driving layup before Shumpert and Anthony deposited jumpers to tie the game at 54-54 with 7:12 remaining.

Just over a minute later, Pierce was the catalyst of another run, as the 17- year veteran converted another jumper that was the first of 14 straight points. Pierce later found Temple for a 3-pointer, then Seraphin scored the final four points of the surge.

Tim Hardaway Jr.'s trey ended a scoreless drought of over 5 1/2 minutes for New York, and Washington brought a 72-60 margin into the fourth quarter.

"The Wizards upped their pressure. They really got into our guys a little more," Knicks coach Derek Fisher said on being outscored 32-15 in the third quarter. "They wanted it more than we did to start."

Pablo Prigioni and Shumpert each hit 3-pointers to cut the deficit to six a few minutes into the fourth, but two straight baskets from the Wizards made it an 81-71 game at 6:56.

Pierce closed his evening with a 3-pointer that made it an 11-point game with over five minutes to go, and the visitors led by as many as 17 down the stretch.

Despite shooting over 55 percent from the floor in the opening quarter, New York committed seven turnovers and led just 23-17 after 12 minutes.

The Knicks cooled off on the offensive end during the second, but they still managed to take a 45-40 lead at halftime.

Game Notes

On Nov. 4, 1950, Nat 'Sweetwater' Clifton became the first African American player in New York Knicks history ... The Knicks had their two-game winning streak snapped ... Shumpert went 4-for-4 from beyond the arc ... Pierce finished with three assists and is now four assists shy of 4,500 for his career ... Washington shot 39-for-80 for the game, while the Knicks made 30- of-81 attempts ... Anthony shot 8-for-23 in the setback ... New York's Amar'e Stoudemire pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.