NEW YORK, Feb. 5 (Ticker) -- Quentin Richardson scored 21 of his 30 points in the final 20 minutes as the Los Angeles Clippers erased an 18-point third-quarter deficit and defeated the New York Knicks, 112-110.

After Mark Jackson hit a turnaround jumper from the left baseline to give New York its biggest lead at 75-57 with 4:33 left in the third quarter, Los Angeles closed the period with a 19-7 run to get within 82-76.

Richardson had eight points during the spurt.

Allan Houston made three free throws to begin the fourth quarter for the Knicks, but the Clippers responded with a 20-3 burst that was capped by two free throws from Darius Miles with 5:32 left that extended Los Angeles' lead to 98-88.

NBA.TV highlights from Clippers-Knicks: 56k | 300k With his fifth double-digit fourth quarter in 11 games, Quentin Richardson rose the the occasion in crunch time yet again. Don Echevarria NBAE/Getty Images

The Knicks got within 106-102 on a 3-pointer by Shandon Anderson with 1:05 left. After Corey Maggette sank 1-of-2 free throws, Latrell Sprewell hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with 50 seconds remaining to cut New York's deficit to 107-105.

Maggette again hit 1-of-2 from the line with 21 seconds left and Houston sank a pair five seconds later to make it 108-107. Jeff McInnis made 1-of-2 from the stripe and, and after a Knicks' timeout, Houston had an open 3-pointer from the top of the key rattle out.

Elton Brand sank a pair of free throws with nine seconds left, but Houston responded with a 3-pointer to get New York within 111-110 with four seconds to go. Richardson was 1-of-2 at the line with three seconds left and Houston's floater from the right side hit the backboard and rim but did not drop at the buzzer.

It was the Knicks' largest blown lead in a home loss since the statistic was kept in 1970, one more than a 17-point cushion squandered in a 124-119 double-overtime setback to Utah on March 22, 1998.

"We can't afford to step backwards," Houston said. "That's what we've done. This is a tough loss."

"Honestly, if Allan makes that shot, then we are right where we want to be," Sprewell added. "It's not like they play good defense. He had a good look, it just didn't go."

Maggette scored 25 points, McInnis added 19 and Brand chipped in 17, 14 rebounds and six blocks for the Clippers, who swept the season series from the Knicks for the first time since 1992-93.

"It makes me feel great to battle back and get a lead," said Brand, a native of nearby Peekskill, New York, whose high school jersey was retired Monday. "It shows growth and maturity. It was a great comeback after a great ceremony."

It was the Clippers' first win at Madison Square Garden since March 5, 1996, and just their fourth in 18 tries since the franchise relocated from San Diego prior to the 1984-85 season. Los Angeles is just 6-17 on the road.

"(The Garden is) the greatest basketball arena in the world," Clippers coach Alvin Gentry said. "If you can come in here with young guys like we have and win, then I think it means an awful lot."

Richardson was 11-of-24 and had 12 rebounds off the bench for Los Angeles, which improved to 3-3 on a season-high seven-game road trip.

"It just came down to us making stops on `D,'" Richardson said. "They average 82 points per game and scored 60 in the first half. Coach told us we had to step it up at halftime. Although we always make it interesting, we're just glad to pull it out tonight."

Houston finished with 40 points and Thomas added 17 and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who dropped their third straight following a season-high four-game winning streak. New York has lost 10 of 14 at home since Don Chaney's coaching debut on December 8.

"We didn't take what they gave us," Chaney said. "They gave us the open shot, but we put it on the floor into a traffic area. We can't play tentative when teams are making runs at us. We have to play our game."

The Knicks shot 52 percent (24-of-46) in the first half to take a 60-49 lead. Houston had 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting at the break.

"We're not playing like we have the intentions of making a hard push to get back to where we need to be," Houston said. "We have one game before the (All-Star) break. A win (against Atlanta on Thursday) would show that we're trying to salvage the season."