NBA Selecciones
WSH

87

1-13
Final
NY

108

11-4
CronicaNumeritos
1 2 3 4 T
WSH 17 29 19 22 87
NY 26 31 29 22 108
Madison Square Garden, New York
Associated Press 11y

Knicks continue dominance of Wizards with 10th straight win

NEW YORK -- Shot after shot clanged off the rim, the crowd growing restless and eventually booing the home team.

Luckily for the Knicks, the bad shooter was just an actor in a movie scene being filmed at halftime. The real players had absolutely no problem with the dismal Washington Wizards.

Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith each scored 20 points in the Knicks' 108-87 victory Friday night, their 10th straight over the NBA's worst team.

"With teams like that who are struggling, you've got to jump on them early so you don't give them any confidence, because at the end of the day they are NBA players," point guard Raymond Felton said.

Tyson Chandler and Ronnie Brewer each added 12 points for the Knicks, who improved to 6-0 at home and beat the Wizards for the ninth straight time at Madison Square Garden. Both winning streaks are their longest active against one team.

New York improved to 11-4, its most wins in a month since going 11-6 in March 2000. The Knicks hadn't won 11 in November since winning 12 in 1972 on the way to their last NBA championship.

"That's a big month for us. Coming into the season, my goal and our goal was to at least get 10 wins for this month," Anthony said. "Any time you can get 10 wins in a month, especially the first month, that's always good."

Chandler finished with 10 rebounds but his 5-of-8 shooting represented a cold night after the NBA's leading shooter had made 16 of 17 over his previous two games and came in shooting 71.8 percent for the season.

Felton scored 11 points for the Knicks, who shot 53 percent from the field in their third straight game without starting guard Jason Kidd, who remains out with lower back spasms.

Jordan Crawford scored 17 points and rookie Bradley Beal had 14 for the Wizards, who beat Portland 84-82 on Wednesday for their lone victory after an 0-12 start but were never in this game after the first 10 minutes.

"We made it hard on ourselves," Crawford said. "They did a good job of moving the ball and the ball kind of stuck in our hands. We didn't do a good job of moving it."

The Knicks led by nine after one and kept increasing their lead, going ahead by double digits throughout the second half and by as much as 23, improving to 17-1 at home in the regular season under coach Mike Woodson.

Woodson won only 13 games in 2004-05, his first season in Atlanta, and he said the key to the Hawks' improvement through the years was their improved play at home.

"The last two years in Atlanta we were a force at home and now that I'm here in New York, you're talking about trying to win the division, you can't lose at home," Woodson said.

The only time the home fans grew impatient was at the half, during the filming of a scene for the upcoming Vince Vaughn film "Delivery Man." After a hard foul, the actor playing the Knicks star had to shoot two free throws but couldn't make both, the boos growing louder with each miss until he had to be shaken.

The real Knicks had nothing to worry about.

Leading by one, the Knicks closed the first quarter with a 10-2 spurt for a 26-17 lead, holding Washington to 32 percent shooting. The Knicks then made 12 of 19 shots in the second, getting eight points from Pablo Prigioni and building a 13-point advantage before going into the locker room up 57-46 after Anthony rattled in a jumper at the buzzer.

Kevin Seraphin finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards, who had 17 turnovers against 11 assists.

"Our handling of the ball, whenever we turn it over like that it puts them out in transition, and they have shooters who spread the floor and that puts you in a bind," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.

Game notes
The Wizards' last victory in New York was Dec. 6, 2006. ... Kidd did some shooting Friday morning and hopes to return next week, though Woodson wasn't sure, saying the Knicks would have to just continue to wait. ... Chandler's "Rebound 4 Rockaway" campaign will team up with the NBA players' association on Saturday to deliver items to families affected by Superstorm Sandy in Far Rockaway, N.Y. ... The Knicks honored Peter Vadola, Dale Mapp and Danny Idiaquez of Midland Beach, N.Y., with the Sweetwater Clifton "City Spirit" award for their actions after Sandy, when they used a boat to help usher more than 200 Staten Island residents to safety after more than 5 feet of water flooded the streets. The award is named for Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, the first African-American to play for the Knicks.

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