Lucky 7's: Amar'e, Knicks Aim To Keep Streaks Alive
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) -- After an impressive fourth-quarter performance, Amar'e Stoudemire has a chance to etch his name into the New York Knicks' record books.
Stoudemire will try to become the second player in franchise history to record seven consecutive 30-point games when the surging Knicks travel to take on the Washington Wizards on Friday night.
New York (14-9) has won six in a row for the first time since Jan. 2-13, 2006. The Knicks extended their run Wednesday thanks to Stoudemire, who scored 18 of his 34 points over the final 12 minutes of a 113-110 victory over Toronto.
"It's a lot of fun," Stoudemire said. "Anytime you can win the way we have been and play with this type of swagger and enjoy the camaraderie, it's so much fun. You just want to keep that feeling going."
Willie Naulls had seven straight 30-point games for the Knicks from Feb. 22-March 4, 1962. New York, 11-1 in its last 12, most recently won seven in a row Dec. 22-Jan. 7, 2001.
The Knicks have also won seven consecutive road games. Another one would give them the second-longest such streak in team history, behind a franchise-record 13-game run Oct. 15-Dec. 10, 1969.
While Stoudemire managed eight points on 3-of-10 shooting in the first half, Raymond Felton picked up the slack, scoring 20 before the break.
Felton also delivered the tie-breaking 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left after it bounced on the rim five times before falling through. He finished with 28 points and 11 assists for his fifth double-double in six games.
The Knicks are 9-1 when Felton reaches double digits in points and assists.
Danilo Gallinari added 20 points and has made 15 of 37 (40.5 percent) from 3-point range during the winning streak.
Gallinari, who went 4 of 9 from beyond the arc Wednesday, was one of six Knicks to score in double figures during a 112-91 win over the Wizards (6-15) on Nov. 5. That was New York's fourth consecutive victory in the series.
Washington, 1-7 in its last eight, is looking forward to getting back to the Verizon Center after playing five of six on the road. The Wizards, 0-12 away from home, lost 116-91 to Sacramento on Wednesday.
"It's frustrating that we are two different teams - a great team at home and a terrible team on the road," said guard Gilbert Arenas, who scored 19 points but shot 6 of 17. "We just have to find a happy medium."
The Wizards, who were without injured rookie guard John Wall, trailed by 14 at halftime.
Wall sat out with a sore foot. He was announced as a starter by the public address announcer but never left the bench.
"I don't know what happened," Wall said. "I went out there, tried to run and couldn't push off like I wanted to. So I just took the game off. It was a tough contest to miss, but I have to try and get back healthy."
His status for this game is uncertain.
Big man Andray Blatche has averaged 22.3 points in his last three meetings with New York, but was also unavailable Wednesday for the second straight game due to a hip contusion. He's uncertain to play Friday.
Blatche (17.1 ppg) and Wall (17.4) could be sorely missed if they can't go against the Knicks, who average 108.0 points - among the best in the NBA.
© 2010 by STATS LLC and Associated Press.
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