New York ? The Denver Nuggets decided to leave their first three terrible quarters behind. They ended up leaving the struggling New York Knicks behind, too.

Voshon Lenard scored 16 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and hit the winning shot as the Denver Nuggets beat the New York Knicks 84-83 Monday night.

Juwan Howard added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Nuggets, who trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half.

“This is our game, guys,” Howard said before the fourth quarter. “We’ve played terrible for three quarters, and we’re only down nine. This is our game.”

It was, much to the familiar dismay of the Knicks. Latrell Sprewell scored 33 points for the Knicks, who led by as many as 19 in the first half. Kurt Thomas added 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost 15 games when leading by double digits this year.

“It’s like the same old story again,” Sprewell said. “We have found ways to beat ourselves down the stretch and when we needed to make big shots, we have fallen a little short.”

The Knicks found several ways to do that Monday, from missing free throws to missing short open jump shots, and Denver’s double-teaming of Sprewell didn’t help that.

After Shandon Anderson made only one of two free throws to give the Knicks an 83-81 lead with 50.1 seconds left, Lenard hit a 3-pointer from the corner over Clarence Weatherspoon, who left Lenard open several times down the stretch.

Celtics 87, Heat 82

Miami  Erick Strickland scored a season-high 23 points, including a pair of 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter, leading Boston over Miami.

Suns 102, Cavaliers 96

Phoenix  Jake Tsakilidis scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Dan Majerle sank two 3-pointers in the final 31¼2 minutes.

Grizzlies 103,

Blazers 100

Portland, Ore. Â Rodney Buford scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Grizzlies rallied from 19 points down in that period. Lorenzen Wright scored 21 points to lead the Grizzlies, who had lost six straight and 15 of 17.

Sonics 106, Jazz 92

Seattle  Rashard Lewis scored 11 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter in Seattle’s first win over Utah in more than two years.

Spurs 91, Clippers 85

Los Angeles  Tim Duncan had 33 points and 13 rebounds, and David Robinson added 19 points as the Spurs ran their winning streak to 13.