His performance strongly suggested otherwise.

Sprewell scored 29 points as the New York Knicks gained their first road victory of the season in impressive fashion, beating the Warriors 94-70 on Tuesday night.

New York had lost its first six road games, but a day after coach Jeff Van Gundy lamented his inability to motivate the Knicks, they played with all the urgency and efficiency they've lacked and had one of the best defensive games in franchise history.

"I thought we were going to play with a lot of heart, but I didn't think that we were going to play that well," Van Gundy said.

The Knicks were led by a dominant game from Sprewell against the team that traded him after he choked former coach P.J. Carlesimo. He went 11-of-18 from the field and torched Warriors rookie Jason Richardson to delight his still-strong contingent of fans in Oakland, where he spent more than five seasons.

"I was probably due for a good game against this team," Sprewell said. "It wasn't any added fire, none of that. It was just one of those nights when you're shooting the ball well, and you never know when that's going to be."

Actually, Allan Houston saw it coming.

"You can tell by the energy he comes out and plays with when it's (Golden State)," said Houston, who had 13 points. "He knows what he's doing."

Othella Harrington had 14 points for the Knicks, who took a 30-point lead in the first half and kept expanding it as Golden State floundered.

New York led by 38 in the third quarter and coasted to its first road victory since April 1 while flirting with the franchise record of 63 points allowed. New York's defense deserved much of the credit for Golden State's 31-percent shooting, but the Warriors weren't exactly tough to guard.

Antawn Jamison had 12 points for the Warriors, who looked less like the resurgent team they've been so far this season and more like the ones who finished with the NBA's second-worst record last spring. Golden State's starters were 13-of-46 from the field.

The Warriors lost for the third time in four games, but they avoided the lowest-scoring game in franchise history on Marc Jackson's jumper with less than 2 minutes left.

"It was a disgrace to be a part of what happened tonight," Jamison said. "They're paying us a lot of money to play ball, and we got manhandled. It was like a grown man playing a 2-year-old, and that's exactly what happened tonight."

The Knicks finally got a win on the third stop of their four-game road trip and gained a measure of revenge against the Warriors, who beat them 90-71 at Madison Square Garden earlier in the month. Mark Jackson had eight points and nine assists for the Knicks, who have won in their last six trips to Oakland.

"Sprewell came in determined," Warriors coach Dave Cowens said. "They wanted to avenge the loss we gave them in New York. We ran the same plays, and they ran the same plays, and it looked like an entirely different game."

There was bad news for the Knicks, however: Clarence Weatherspoon, who scored 10 points, sprained his right ankle in the third quarter.

New York held the Warriors to 3-of-20 shooting and just seven points in the second quarter. Harrington and Sprewell scored nine points apiece in the quarter as the Knicks shot 59 percent in the first half and took a 55-25 lead at halftime.

Golden State was horrible before the break, shooting 26 percent, making 10 turnovers and even getting outrebounded by the undersized Knicks.

There were lowlights aplenty for the Warriors in the first half: Larry Hughes got his shot blocked by 6-foot-2 point guard Howard Eisley; Erick Dampier picked up three fouls in four minutes; Richardson missed a layup at the halftime buzzer because he hurried to beat the clock.

Game Notes
Actor Delroy Lindo was at courtside. ... Weatherspoon played in his 700th NBA game. ... Cowens still kept Marc Jackson buried on his bench, even when Dampier got into big foul trouble, until garbage time in the fourth.