Brown gets 1,000th win as Knicks take sixth straight

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York Knicks coach Larry Brown thanked all the people who have helped him reach an exclusive club.

NBA Coaching Victories
Lenny Wilkens	1,332
Don Nelson	1,190
* Pat Riley	1,121
* Larry Brown	1,000
* Jerry Sloan	962
Bill Fitch	944
Red Auerbach	938
Dick Motta	935
Jack Ramsay	864
* Phil Jackson	851
Cotton Fitzsimmons	832
Gene Shue	784
* George Karl	758
* Rick Adelman	722
John MacLeod	707
Red Holzman	696
Chuck Daly	638
* Mike Fratello	635
Doug Moe	628
Al Attles	557
Del Harris	556
Rudy Tomjanovich	527
K.C. Jones	522
* -- Active

Brown became the fourth coach in league history to win 1,000 games as the Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 105-94 on Friday night for their sixth straight victory.

"It's a great feeling," Brown said. "When you look at this league, to be in it this long, you feel lucky."

Brown, who is 1,000-762 in 23 seasons as an NBA coach, joined Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson and Pat Riley as the only coaches to reach 1,000 victories. All four coached the Knicks at some point in their careers.

"I've been blessed with the players I've had the privilege to coach as well as with coaches that have taught me," Brown said. "I know every time something good happens to me, those people are happier than I am."

Brown achieved his milestone win in front of his brother Herb, who is an assistant coach for the Hawks. The two exchanged a long hug after the game.

The Knicks have won six straight for the first time since a seven-game winning streak from Dec. 22, 2000-Jan. 7, 2001.

"We're just now getting a taste of what it feels like to win," said Jamal Crawford, who led New York (13-21) with 23 points.

Crawford was amazed by his coach's latest achievement.

"That's unbelievable," Crawford said. "That's a testament to how good he is. He's won at every level he's ever been at."

Stephon Marbury continued his strong play with 19 points and nine assists. He has averaged 23.3 points and 9.3 assists during the winning streak.

"He's gotten better each game," Larry Brown said. "Of all the games that he's played this year, this is by far the best."

Nate Robinson added 17 points, including 11 in the first half.

Joe Johnson had 19 points for Atlanta (9-25), which has lost eight of its last 11 games. Al Harrington and Zaza Pachulia each had 18 for the Hawks.

Atlanta coach Mike Woodson, who was an assistant under Larry Brown in Detroit, was happy for his mentor.

"It's great for Larry," Woodson said. "He's one of the best in the business and he gets his team ready to play."

Harrington had tied the game at 84 midway through the fourth quarter before New York went on a 16-4 run to take command. Eddy Curry, who finished with 15 points, had two dunks during the run and Crawford also added four points.

"We just didn't finish down the stretch," said Josh Childress, who had 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting for Atlanta. "We didn't come up with the key stops."

New York led by as many as 12 in the first half before settling for a 50-47 halftime lead. Marbury scored 12 points in the first half and New York shot 57 percent from the field (21-for-37).

"We came out a little tired and they zoned us, which was a shock to the system," Marbury said of the first half.

New York led 39-30 in the second quarter, but Atlanta went on a 13-3 run highlighted by Josh Smith's two-handed slam to take its first lead since early in the first quarter. New York responded with six points by Crawford over the final 2:34 of the second quarter.

Game notes
New York Rangers great Mark Messier, who had his No. 11 raised to the rafters on Thursday night, was sitting courtside and received a standing ovation from the crowd when he was introduced in the second quarter. ... The Hawks have lost 11 of 12 in New York. ... Riley coached New York from 1991-95 and was 223-105, Nelson coached in 1995-96 and was 34-25, and Wilkens went 40-41 from 2003-05.