39.0°

Ricky Davis had 37 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists Saturday night and the Cavs rallied for an improbable 104-99 overtime win against the New York Knicks.

Cleveland trailed by 15 points midway through the fourth quarter before going on a 21-6 run to tie it on a pair of free throws with 4.3 seconds left by Juneau's Carlos Boozer as the Knicks went stone cold from the field.

With the comeback, the Cavs (16-64) avoided having the worst single-season record in team history. Cleveland won only 15 games in 1970-71 - its inaugural season - and again in 1981-82.

The Cavs may still be the NBA's worst team, but at least they're not Cleveland's.

"It's real important to get the 16th win," Davis said. "We didn't want to have our names be a part of history in a bad way. It shows that guys are still working hard and eager to win."

Kurt Thomas had 23 points and Shandon Anderson a season-high 21 for New York, which missed 13 straight shots and went without a basket for 11:06 before Thomas hit a 12-footer with 33 seconds left in OT.

By then, the Cavs were up 100-92 and they closed out one of their few thrilling home wins this season.

The Carlos Boozer Archive

Davis is still seeking that elusive first career triple-double.

Earlier this season, he was one rebound short against Utah when he intentionally missed a shot at the Jazz basket, hoping to get his 10th rebounds off the miss. But NBA rules forbid him from being credited with the shot or rebound.

The Cavs, who may still finish with the league's worst record and thus have the best chance to win the No. 1 pick in May's NBA lottery, didn't show any such selfishness during their comeback or in overtime.

At one point, the 7-foot-3 Ilgauskas, whose career has been slowed by injuries, went diving into New York's bench to try and save a ball from going out of bounds.

"That showed how much we wanted to win the game," Boozer said.

The Cavs like anything but a team tanking games for a chance at getting Akron high school superstar LeBron James.

Cleveland trailed 86-71 midway through the fourth and were still down 90-80 with 6:39 left.

But the Knicks continued to misfire, got sloppy with the ball and Cleveland clawed back. New York didn't score a field goal in the final 6:39 of regulation.

Cleveland blew several chances to tie it in the final two minutes before finally catching the Knicks at 92-92 on Boozer's two free throws with 4.3 seconds left.

New York's Clarence Weatherspoon missed a wide-open 10-footer at the horn that would have won it.

"If that goes, we're going home," Latrell Sprewell said. "We were up double digits and let them get back in the game. What can you say, it was a bad couple of breaks down the stretch."

Davis hit a jumper to open overtime and Cleveland scored the first eight points of the extra session to go up 100-92 on Smush Parker's two free throws with 38.7 seconds left.

Thomas hit a 15-foot jumper and a 3-pointer to get the Knicks within three, but Parker iced it by hitting two more free throws with 12.3 seconds left.

Davis went scoreless in the first period, and didn't make his first basket until 7:49 remained before halftime.

But the 6-foot-7 guard spent the remainder of the half posting up Lavor Postell and finished with 16 points in the quarter on 7-for-12 shooting.

Clippers 101, Nuggets 79

DENVER - Rookie Marko Jaric scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, Andre Miller had 16 points for Los Angeles.

Corey Maggette added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Lamar Odom had 13 points and 10 rebounds to help the Clippers snap a three-game losing streak. Juwan Howard and Shammond Williams each had 12 points for Denver.

Mavericks 117, Warriors 108

DALLAS - Dirk Nowitzki had 37 points and 12 rebounds and Steve Nash added 21 points and 10 assists as Dallas finally broke the team record with its 58th victory.

The Mavericks had lost three straight since tying the mark, and had dropped four of five to relinquish their season-long grip on the NBA's best record. By ending the slide, they keep alive a chance to win the Midwest Division.

Antawn Jamison had 25 points - 20 in the first half - and 11 rebounds for Golden State.

Rockets 101, SuperSonics 86

HOUSTON - Cuttino Mobley scored 13 of his 17 points in the third quarter to help Houston keep its slim playoff hopes alive.

Steve Francis also had 17 points for the Rockets, who will be eliminated from playoff contention Sunday if the Phoenix Suns beat San Antonio at home.

Brent Barry led Seattle with 23 points.

Hawks 101, Wizards 100

WASHINGTON - In his first game ever with no playoff meaning, Michael Jordan made a thrilling go-ahead shot in the final minute. But he missed the game-winner at the buzzer.

Ira Newble's dunk off an offensive rebound with 8 seconds to go turned out to be the winning basket as Atlanta beat Washington.

Jordan hit a fadeaway 13-footer over Newble with 18 seconds left to give the Wizards a one-point lead, but the Hawks had enough time for Newble to score the last of his career-high 21 points.

Jordan had one final chance, but Newble didn't give him much space this time, and the 20-footer was off the mark.

Jordan, whose Wizards were eliminated from playoff contention Friday night, scored 17 points in 30 minutes, the fewest minutes he's played since March 5.

Jason Terry also scored 21 points for the Hawks. Christian Laettner led Washington with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Nets 94, Raptors 86

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Richard Jefferson scored 21 points and banked in a 3-pointer from mid-court at the end of the third quarter for laughs as New Jersey beat undermanned Toronto.

Kenyon Martin added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Jason Kidd had 17 points and eight assists as the Nets opened a half-game lead over idle Detroit in the race for the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. The Nets also increased their lead in the Atlantic Division to 1 1/2 games over idle Philadelphia.

Morris Peterson had 22 points and Rafer Alston 19 to lead the injury-riddled Raptors, who were only able to use seven players because Alvin Williams was hobbled by an ankle injury.

Magic 89, Celtics 86

ORLANDO, Fla. - Tracy McGrady scored 37 points and Gordan Giricek hit the winning 3-pointer with 32.2 seconds left as Magic beat Boston in their home finale.

Orlando won its third straight and moved into a tie with the Celtics for sixth place in the Eastern Conference with two games remaining for both teams. But Boston owns the tiebreaker thanks to its 3-2 record against the Magic.

Giricek finished with 16 points. Paul Pierce had 25 points and nine rebounds for Boston.