Davis had five of his 24 points and two of his seven assists in overtime, and the New Orleans Hornets scored the final 10 points of the game to defeat New York 97-91 Sunday.

With Charlie Ward sitting out with a bruised leg, Howard Eisley having fouled out and rookie Frank Williams too inexperienced to play in crunch time, Davis took advantage as Shandon Anderson tried to defend him in overtime.

''I thought it was significant. They went with who they had,'' Hornets coach Paul Silas said. ''Had they had Charlie, it would have been different, but they chose to go that way and we really exploited it.

''Of course, Baron did hit some big shots. I don't know if anybody could have done anything against him at that point.''

Davis shot 10-for-23 from the field and added six rebounds as New Orleans won on the road for the first time this season. P.J. Brown added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Jamal Mashburn just missed a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

For the Knicks, Allan Houston scored 27 but missed four of his five shots in overtime. Lee Nailon added 18 against his former team.

The Knicks took a four-point lead early in overtime, but Davis scored on a drive, hit a 3-pointer and assisted on a layup by Stacey Augmon that gave New Orleans its first lead of the game, 92-91.

After Houston missed a jumper, Davis fed Brown for a bank shot and a three-point lead.

''Any time I get a big guy on me I want to exploit that by getting to the hole,'' Davis said.

Mashburn then made the biggest defensive play of overtime, deflecting away Anderson's entry pass and then throwing a 60-foot pass to Augmon for a breakaway dunk and a 96-91 lead.

Houston missed an open 3-pointer, ending all hope for the Knicks.

''I don't think I've been that open in seven games,'' said Houston, who injured his right heel during the fourth quarter. ''I've got to knock them down, that's the bottom line. I can have a cast on my foot and I should be able to make those.''

Despite a 1-for-9 start by Houston, the Knicks took a 24-17 lead after one quarter and expanded it to 50-40 by halftime as Kurt Thomas had 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

New York maintained a lead throughout the third quarter, but things changed in the fourth as New Orleans opened the quarter with a 12-4 run to pull to 75-74.

''The number one thing is poise,'' Knicks coach Don Chaney said. ''We can't be in a frantic mode on offense. We have to be poised, and that's something this team has to develop.''

The Hornets finally tied the game for the first time on a three-point play by Augmon with 4:27 left, making it 77-77. Nailon scored four straight points to give New York an 83-79 lead, but Mashburn made a free throw and Davis sank a 3-pointer from 26 feet away to tie it at 83-83 with 12.8 seconds left.

Davis had a chance to win it in regulation, but his short jumper with 2 seconds remaining was off-target.

Game Notes
George Lynch had a misspelling on his jersey. It read: ''New Orlaens.'' ... Nailon and Augmon went at it hard when they were matched against each other, and there appeared to be no love lost between the two. ... Anderson went in on a breakaway midway through the third quarter, and the crowd anticipated a replay of his impressive dunk over Gerald Wallace of Sacramento on Wednesday. Defended by Davis, Anderson attempted a layup and missed. Eisley then missed the tip-in. ... Anderson shot three airballs.