Knick gets hat trick

THE TOUGHEST part of Tyson Chandler's night was the postgame interview.

The California native and San Francisco 49ers fan, who had just tied a franchise record with his third straight 20-rebound game, was forced to face the media wearing a Ravens Super Bowl champion hat, payment of a lost bet with Baltimore fan Carmelo Anthony.

"That made my day. You just don't know," said Anthony, who stood across the locker room and watched Chandler's interview with a smile. "It was a good day for me, it just was a coincidence that he had three games with 20 rebounds. That picture will be everywhere."

That's about all that hasn't gone Chandler's way lately.

The veteran center added another highlight to his first All-Star season, Anthony scored 27 points, and the New York Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons, 99-85, on Monday night for their fifth consecutive victory.

In a game that was decided early, Chandler played long enough to grab his 20th rebound midway through the fourth quarter. After grabbing 20 in victories on Friday and Saturday night, he became the first Knicks player to have 20 in three straight games since Hall of Famer Willis Reed in December 1969.

"That's what I expect," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "He can't tease me. He's done it three straight games, so I'm expecting it the fourth game."

Chandler has been on a tear since Woodson bluntly told him that he wasn't playing the kind of complete basketball that's expected of a player of his stature.

"He called me into his office and he said, 'You're an All-Star, you need to start playing like it.' The last thing you want is people questioning that," Chandler said. "The next night, I had a different focus about me."

In other games:

* At Miami, LeBron James scored 31 points and Chris Bosh added 23 to lead the Heat past Charlotte, 99-94. Dwyane Wade had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Miami, which has won nine of its last 10 at home. James was 13-for-14 from the field, for a career-best 93 percent shooting.

* At Indianapolis, David West scored 29 points and Paul George had 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, leading Indiana past Chicago, 111-101, and into a share of the Central Division lead.

* At Washington, Martell Webster scored 21 points, and the Wizards broke a four-game losing streak with a 98-90 win over a Los Angeles Clippers team missing Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. Griffin was a late scratch because of a strained left hamstring, ending his streak of 197 consecutive games. Paul missed his eighth consecutive game with a bruised right kneecap.

* At Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook scored 24 points, Kevin Durant had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the Thunder blew out Dallas, 112-91.

Oklahoma City led by at least 20 throughout the second half, winning for the 10th time in 11 meetings between the teams since the Mavericks beat the Thunder in the 2011 Western Conference finals on its way to the NBA championship.

* At Salt Lake City, Randy Foye scored six of his 20 points in overtime to lead the Utah Jazz in its 98-91 win over the Sacramento Kings.

* At Minneapolis, LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 13 rebounds to help the Portland Trail Blazers avoid a late collapse and hang on to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 100-98.