Stoudemire Leads Knicks Over Olimpia Milano
MILAN (AP) Amare Stoudemire scored 32 points in his first game with New York and the Knicks shook off a rusty start to pull away for a 125-113 win Sunday over Italian team Olimpia Milano in an exhibition game.
The Knicks looked sluggish in the first half, struggling with turnovers as the hosts took a 41-36 lead in the second quarter. But a 3-pointer from Milan native Danilo Gallinari seemed to kickstart New York's offense, and the Knicks built a 12-point lead by the end of the third.
Gallinari finished with 24 points, including five 3-pointers, to go with seven rebounds.
Three other Knicks players finished in double figures scoring. Wilson Chandler added 17 points, Anthony Randolph had 16 and Timofey Mozgov finished with 10.
Former Minnesota Timberwolves center Oleksiy Pecherov led Milano with 23 points.
The game was the first of the NBA's annual European preseason tour. New York plays the Minnesota Timberwolves in Paris on Wednesday.
Stoudemire looked comfortable with his new teammates and set the tone from the start, opening the scoring with a dunk after just nine seconds. His second basket was more finesse than power, as he drove through the lane and put up a reverse layup with his back to the rim to give New York a 14-9 lead midway through the period.
The former Phoenix Suns forward, who joined the Knicks in a sign-and-trade deal this offseason, continued to use his physical presence underneath the basket to create easy points and draw fouls. He finished 10 of 13 from the floor, and 11 of 13 from the free-throw line.
With the Knicks having already pulled away, Anthony Randolph and Toney Douglas combined to provide one of the highlights of the night midway through the fourth quarter.
Douglas led a fast break and put the ball up off the glass for Randolph to slam home with both hands - bringing even some of the Milano fans to their feet.
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