Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown finally got his first win of the new National Basketball Association season as head coach of the New York Knicks with a 105-95 win over the Sacramento Kings.
The Knicks lost their first five games before Sunday's victory in Sacramento. Stephon Marbury had 17 points and seven assists for New York, which is off to its worst start in 18 years with a record of 1-5. Brown is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history. Most recently, he guided the Detroit Pistons to the NBA championship in 2004, and came one win from repeating in 2005.
The Toronto Raptors lacked New York's luck Sunday, falling 126-121 in overtime to the Seattle SuperSonics, to remain one of two winless teams in the NBA. Seattle blew an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter, but rallied to edge the host Raptors. Rashard Lewis led the Sonics with 41 points. Toronto and Atlanta both have 0-6 records. Seattle also has been struggling, and has a record of 2-4.
The Philadelphia 76ers extended their winning streak to four games with a 113-108 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. All-Star Allen Iverson led the visiting Sixers with 28 points and 10 assists.
Second year standout LeBron James of Cleveland became the youngest player in NBA history to reach four thousand career points, after scoring 26 to help his Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic 108-100. Twenty-year-old James needed only 10 points to surpass Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, who was 21 when he accomplished the feat.
In other NBA contests Sunday, the Boston Celtics overpowered the Houston Rockets 102-82, and the Denver Nuggets trounced the Minnesota Timberwolves 102-91.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.