OAKLAND – It took this arena and these Golden State fans to arouse the burning passions in Latrell Sprewell once again.
In a shockingly dominant display for a club ready to fall off the cliff with their coach, Sprewell led the Knicks to a 94-70 massacre of his former team, the Warriors, last night at The Arena in Oakland.
The romp was the Knicks’ first on the road this season after six losses.
Eleven days after playing his worst game as a Knick, against these same Warriors in a horrid Garden loss, Sprewell regained the fire and broke out for 29 points in 29 minutes, surging to the lane for hoops, hitting pull-up jumpers and 3-pointers.
“I was probably due for a great game against this team,” Sprewell said afterward. “I haven’t particularly shot the ball well against this team. I hope this gives us the confidence we need.”
Sprewell is back – and so, maybe, are the Knicks.
If the 5-7 Knicks turn around their season, this euphoric night in the Bay Area will be the one to which they point.
Coach Jeff Van Gundy’s crew now attempts to carry its momentum into Phoenix tonight.
“Usually you don’t break a skid with a blowout, you usually fight for it,” Van Gundy said. “As I said to them before the game, maybe this was the best thing for us, getting humbled the first couple of weeks.”
Sprewell’s was a flawless, all-around effort that eventually supercharged the rest of his mates into greatness. Sprewell also finished with five rebounds, four assists, two steals, one blocked shot and no turnovers.
He was booed every time he touched the ball in the first quarter, but that dissipated, and only scattered cheers could be heard as he finished hitting 11-of-19 shots.
“Of all the places, I knew he’d have a good game here,” injured Marcus Camby said.
Suddenly, the defensively deficient Knicks were setting defensive records last night in the first half, when they took an amazing 30-point lead. They kept their lead above virtually 30 for the entire second half, the biggest advantage reaching an unthinkable 38.
Incredibly, the Knicks posted the 55-25 bulge, ending fittingly when Golden State rookie Jason Richardson, who singed them 10 days ago, blew a breakaway layup at the buzzer. Warrior fans booed loudly as the Knicks walked off the court, trying to contain their smirks.
Sprewell, who still has a lawsuit pending vs. the franchise from lost wages following his 1997 suspension, had 19 points by halftime. In the third, after accepting a deep pass form Mark Jackson for a layup, he stared down the Warriors’ bench.
Jackson, kept in the lineup, had a throwback performance with eight points and nine assists.
The Knicks raced to a 30-18 lead after one, then destroyed the Warriors in the second quarter, outscoring them 25-7 after scoring 16 of the first 18 points. At one juncture, Sprewell scored eight straight points for the Knicks as Golden State went scoreless for the period’s first five minutes.
The Warriors’ seven points in the second tied a Knick opponent’s low for fewest points in a quarter. Golden State’s 25 points by intermission set a record for fewest points for an opponent by intermission.
Golden State also set its all-time first-half low with their 25. Shooting guard Allan Houston (13 points) guarded small forward Antawn Jamison in a surprise, holding him to 12 points.
Sprewell gave the Knicks a 20-point lead with 8:36 remaining in the half, stripping Jersey’s own Troy Murphy, gliding in for a fastbreak before hitting a pull-up in the lane.
Sprewell then faked out Richardson from the perimeter, getting the rookie up in the air and out of the play to sink a 18-footer.
