Amare Stoudemire and the New York Knicks have come a long way since a season-opening victory over the Raptors.
Stoudemire had 31 points and a season-high 16 rebounds, Wilson Chandler scored 21 and the Knicks beat Toronto 116-99 on Sunday, extending their road winning streak to seven games.
“It shows you how much we’ve improved since October,” Stoudemire said. “We’re still on the way to getting better. We’re going to continue to work, going to continue to watch film, we’re going to stay hungry and see how good we can be.”
Stoudemire scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, going 7 for 7 from the free throw line.
“He’s got broad shoulders and we jump on them a lot of times,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He plays at ease. It’s very comforting to know that you can just throw it over to him and he’s going to get a wide-open jump shot or he’s dunking or he’s going to get a foul on him. He’s not forcing things, he’s just been playing terrific.”
Shawne Williams scored 14 points for New York, all in the fourth quarter, going 4 for 4 from 3-point range.
“Shawne is doing a great job of stepping in when his number is called and knocking down open shots,” Stoudemire said. “They tried to sag in on me and left the shot open for Shawne, but he made them pay every time.”
Stoudemire and Williams combined for 29 points in the fourth, five more than Toronto’s 24.
The Knicks, who lead the league in three-point attempts, made 12 of 27 from behind the arc.
Landry Fields had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Raymond Felton had 18 points for the Knicks, who matched their longest road winning streak since a seven-game run between Dec. 27, 1994, and Jan. 22, 1995.
The Knicks won in Toronto on opening night, then lost eight of their next 10. They’ve won nine of 10 since, including four straight.
“We’re starting to buy into the system offensively and we’ve got better spacing,” Stoudemire said. “The chemistry is phenomenal between myself and Raymond. Defensively we’re doing a much better job of containing guys and sticking to our principles. We’ve gotten smarter.”
Elsewhere in the NBA, it was: Boston 100, New Jersey 75; Detroit 102, Cleveland 92; Oklahoma City 114, Golden State 109; San Antonio 109, New Orleans 84; Denver 108, Memphis 107; Phoenix 125, Washington 108; and Portland 100, L.A. Clippers 91.
At Toronto, Danilo Gallinari was the only New York starter not to reach double figures, making just two of seven shots and finishing with six points.
New York leads the NBA with nine road wins and has not lost away from home since a 120-118 defeat at Denver on Nov. 16.
“You can see why,” Raptors coach Jay Triano said. “To beat a team like this, we need to have our guys playing a lot better than they did today. You can go through the list and see who didn’t play well for us. When your list is that long you’re not going to beat the better teams, and this is one of the best teams in the NBA right now.”
Amir Johnson scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds for the Raptors, while Jerryd Bayless scored a season-high 23 points.
Andrea Bargnani scored 16 points, Jose Calderon had 13 and DeMar DeRozan 12 for Toronto, which had won two straight and six of eight coming in.
Chandler scored 12 points as New York led 33-18 after one quarter. Toronto struggled with its shooting, missing 10 of 11 field-goal attempts during one stretch, as the Knicks reeled off a 15-2 run.
Bayless scored 11 points in the second as the Raptors rallied within 60-50 at the half. Toronto might have drawn closer if not for a poor performance at the foul line, making just 4 of 12 in the quarter.
Johnson had 10 points and eight rebounds in the third as Toronto trimmed the deficit to 82-75 heading into the final quarter. Bargnani opened the fourth with a driving layup before Stoudemire scored consecutive baskets, and Williams made a three-pointer and then tipped in Toney Douglas’ miss to cap a 9-0 run, all but ending Toronto’s hopes.
The Raptors finished 11 for 22 at the free throw line.
Spurs 109, Hornets 84
At San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 19 points and the Spurs beat the sliding New Orleans Hornets for the second time in a week.
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At Denver, Nene scored 27 points, Arron Afflalo added 25 and Denver held off Memphis to give coach George Karl his 999th NBA victory.
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At Newark, N.J., Nate Robinson scored 21 points starting in place of an injured Rajon Rondo, leading Boston to its seventh straight victory.
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At Phoenix, Steve Nash was 8 of 8 from the field, made all four of his foul shots, scored 20 points and had a season-high 17 assists to help Phoenix keep Washington winless on the road this season.
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At Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored 28 points in his first game back from a knee injury, and Russell Westbrook added 19 points and 13 assists for Oklahoma City.
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At Auburn Hills, Mich., Richard Hamilton scored 27 points and Rodney Stuckey added 24 points and 11 assists to help Detroit beat Cleveland.
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Blazers 100, Clippers 91
At Portland, Ore., Marcus Camby had 12 points and 19 rebounds to lead the Blazers over the Los Angeles Clippers.
