Sprewell comes up small against Knicks

He did neither.

Sprewell scored only five points on 2-for-11 shooting for Minnesota and the New York Knicks got a season-high 18 points and 17 rebounds from Dikembe Mutombo to hold off the Timberwolves 97-92 on Wednesday night.

It was Sprewell's first game against the Knicks since being dealt to Minnesota in a four-team trade this summer.

``It was nice to see those guys,'' Sprewell said. ``I don't have any animosity toward them.''

He hugged his former teammates before tipoff, but was hardly heard from again. He continued his bad shooting after going 0-for-8 against Ron Artest and Indiana on Tuesday night.

``It's frustrating when you lose and don't play well,'' Sprewell said. ``Hopefully, next game, I'll have the opportunity to turn this around.''

New York's Allan Houston scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. In his first game back after missing two games with a sore lower back, Houston scored six of New York's final nine points to help the Knicks win their third straight and snap a four-game losing streak to the Wolves.

``I just wanted to come in and fit in,'' Houston said. ``It took me a while to get into an offensive rhythm. ... Fortunately, I hit a couple late.''

Houston also spent much of the night guarding Sprewell.

``It's definitely competitive,'' Houston said. ``You're playing against a guy you played against every day in practice and you've won big games and had a lot of great moments with and now he's on another team.''

Reserve Frank Williams had a career-high 17 points for the Knicks.

With New York up 88-87 with 2:54 left to play, Houston extended the advantage with a 12-footer and a pair of free throws. After a 20-footer by Kevin Garnett, Kurt Thomas added a jumper before Sam Cassell gave the Wolves some hope with a 3-pointer to make it 94-92 with 37.2 seconds left.

But Houston deflated Minnesota with a long jumper and Fred Hoiberg missed a 3-pointer on Minnesota's next possession. Charlie Ward added a free throw for New York and the Wolves lost their second straight game.

``(Houston) came through right on time,'' Knicks coach Don Chaney said. ``He's shown over the years that when the pressure's on and a shot is needed, he comes through.''

Garnett led Minnesota with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Sam Cassell added 23 points and 10 assists, Gary Trent had 15 points and Hoiberg 13.

But the Wolves had no answer for New York's inside game.

Mutombo entered the game averaging 6.3 points and six rebounds; he nearly had a double-double by halftime, scoring 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

The Wolves recovered from a slow start and took the lead after trailing for much of the first three quarters. Minnesota ripped off a 10-0 run fueled by six points from Cassell to give the Wolves a 67-62 lead with 2:02 to go in the third.

The Wolves led by as many as nine points in the final quarter before New York reeled off nine straight points to make it 84-all with 4:32 to go.

``Down the stretch, you've got to be able to execute and get guys open, and we didn't do that,'' Wolves coach Flip Saunders said.

Sprewell's first points came on a 3-pointer early in the third quarter, bringing a roar from the crowd. His only other basket came on a 14-footer to cut the lead to 51-47.

The two teams met in the preseason, but Sprewell didn't play because of asore left Achilles' tendon.

Notes:
Wolves C Mark Madsen sat out with back spasms, joining fellow center Michael Olowokandi (knee) on the bench. Ervin Johnson started in Madsen'splace. ... The Timberwolves play seven of their next eight games on the road.