NEW YORK (AP) -- Playing their second game in two nights and

forced into overtime after blowing an 18-point lead, the New York

Knicks were in need of some energy.

It came from the oldest player on the team.

Antonio Davis had four points and three rebounds in overtime,

while playing tough defense on Dirk Nowitzki, and the Knicks beat

the Dallas Mavericks 117-115 on Wednesday night for their fifth

straight win.

"I think they understand how much I care about this team and

how badly I want to win," the 37-year-old Davis said. "I don't

want to open the papers and see the position that we're in, and a

lot of times you have to know your role. You have to know what you

can do and what you can't do. And what I can do is I can defend a

guy and I can rebound.

"When they see me running after a rebound, or something like

that, they really understand what this game is all about."

Stephon Marbury scored 28 points, Jamal Crawford added 25 points

and Eddy Curry had 21 for the Knicks, who beat one of the NBA's top

teams for the second time in two nights and have won five in a row

for the first time since Jan. 30-Feb 8, 2004.

"The way we're approaching the game is totally different,"

Marbury said. "We have a lot of confidence. We know we're going to

win."

New York led by at least eight points from midway through the

first quarter until early in the fourth, but was forced to overtime

after shooting only 7-of-21 (33 percent) in the final period.

Nowitzki had 32 points for the Mavericks, who had their

three-game winning streak snapped and lost to the Knicks for the

first time in eight games.

Curry converted a three-point play after grabbing an offensive

rebound, giving the Knicks a 110-109 lead with 3:12 remaining in

overtime. Davis' follow pushed the lead to three before Nowitzki

hit a 3-pointer to tie it for the final time.

Davis made two free throws with 1:27 to go to give the Knicks a

114-112, then he pressured Nowitzki into a tough miss on the other

end. Crawford made three free throws from there.

"I think Tony's played him a lot," Knicks coach Larry Brown

said. "For the most part he did a tremendous job on him."

Ahead by 18 points in the first half, the Knicks were still up

by four until Devin Harris scored on a drive, forced Marbury into

an offensive foul on the other end, and Jason Terry knocked down a

jumper to tie it at 101.

After Marbury was called for traveling, Nowitzki's jumper with

1½ minutes gave Dallas its first lead since it was 7-6. Curry's

follow dunk tied it at 103, and Marbury answered Terry's drive with

two free throws to keep it tied with 27 seconds to play.

Nowitzki missed two chances after that, including a 3-pointer

just before the buzzer.

"I want to take that one back at the end of regulation that I

missed," Nowitzki said. "I kind of rushed that one when the score

was tied."

Terry scored 20 points and Josh Howard had 18 for Dallas. Harris

had 15 and Jerry Stackhouse 12 off the bench.

Playing one night after winning at Cleveland, the Knicks seized

control minutes into the game. A 17-4 run turned a three-point

deficit into a 21-11 lead, and New York led 35-21 at the end of the

first period. Marbury and Curry each scored 10 points in the

Knicks' highest-scoring first quarter of the season.

"They were the aggressors in the first half. We really didn't

get off the bus," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said. "We've got

some lethargic situations here that I've got to address. It's

really disappointing. Just got to crack the whip a little bit."

Maurice Taylor's basket pushed the lead to 40-22 less than a

minute into the second quarter, and the Knicks were ahead 63-48 at

halftime.Game notes
Brown wore a Mark Messier jersey during his pregame and

postgame remarks to the media. The New York Rangers plan to retire

Messier's No. 11 Thursday night. "He's always been someone

everybody mentions as a special player," said Brown, who said he

is a hockey fan. ... Marbury has made 18 consecutive free throws

over the last three games. ... The Knicks and Mavs have the

league's two highest payrolls, and there was plenty of money on the

sidelines, too: Dallas owner Mark Cuban and Donald Trump were both

at the game. ... The Knicks were 31-of-33 (94 percent) from the

free throw line and outrebounded the Mavericks 54-37.