• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Harrington leads Knicks to blowout over Kings

Dec 14, 2008 - 6:35 AM By Tom Galland PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SACRAMENTO, California (Ticker) -- The New York Knicks are definitely buying into the high-octane offensive philosophy of Mike D'Antoni.

Al Harrington led six players in double figures with 33 points as the Knicks led from start to finish and blew past the Sacramento Kings, 114-90, on Saturday.

Nate Robinson added 19 points and David Lee chipped in with 17 and 19 rebounds for the Knicks, who led by as many as 30 points.

"This is a good start with two road wins," D'Antoni said. "We have the potential to be really good offensively. We are trying to get better defensively, but I think you saw everything we can be in the first quarter."

The win was the second straight on the road for the Knicks, who are 2-1 on their current trip with games remaining against the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers before a return home.

New York came out firing from the opening tip, racing to a 43-21 advantage at the end of the first quarter that left the Kings and their home crowd shell-shocked.

The Knicks hit 18-of-24 shots in the quarter, including five 3-pointers, leaving Sacramento's defense flat-footed when it showed up at all.

"We really just locked in on passing the ball and a lot of screen-and-rolls," Harrington said of the early barrage. "It confused them and that got us a lot of open shots."

"We've had some quarters like that where our shots are falling," Lee said. "When our offense is clicking like that, there's not too much I think the defense can do."

The lead extended to 29 after Harrington completed a three-point play to make it 56-27 midway through the second quarter. New York settled for a 69-45 lead at the break, falling one short of the Kings' season high for points allowed in a half.

Sacramento showed signs of life in the third quarter, thanks mainly to energetic play from their youngsters.

Rookie Jason Thompson scored on consecutive dunks and second-year center Spencer Hawes threw down one of his own to key a 16-3 run that cut the deficit to 79-67 with 2:06 left in the quarter.

But Harrington put a quick end to any hopes of a comeback for the Kings by scoring 11 points - including three 3-pointers - in a 75-second stretch that pushed the lead back to 20 points for New York, which coasted home.

"I looked at what was going on and realized we needed an outburst, some buckets," Harrington said. "I really focused in and was able to make three or four big shots. We opened it back up and there was no turning back from there. ... That's the kind of role I want on this team."

The Knicks scorched the nets from long range, hitting 13-of-27 from the arc while the Kings made just 3-of-23, limiting any realistic chances of rallying.

"You can't have that kind of discrepancy," Hawes said. "We knew that was what they were trying to do. I think the troubles we had defending the pick-and-roll led to it. There's a reason guys are in this league and especially if you're in that system, it's no challenge shooting 48 percent if you're wide-open."

It was the second straight wire-to-wire loss for Sacramento after falling to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Friday in a much more competitive effort.

"I told them before the game (the Knicks) watched our game last night, so they're going to come out and jump on (us) quick, and that's what they did," said Kings coach Reggie Theus, who saw his team drop its ninth home game in the last 10.