NEW YORK (NBA.com Exclusive)  --  Al Harrington elevated to block Chris Paul's driving layup attempt late in the fourth quarter and then ran downcourt wagging his finger a la Dikembe Mutombo as the Madison Square Garden crowd roared in approval.

Harrington finished with 24 points off the bench, David Lee scored a season-high 28 and Larry Hughes had a season-best 20 in his first start as the Knicks earned their first victory of the season, 117-111, over Paul and the visiting New Orleans Hornets.

"We played unselfishly on offense and we played hard on defense. And when we can do those two things, we'll have a chance to win," said Lee, who scored on a variety of pick-and-rolls and added eight rebounds.

Chris Duhon, who last week publicly criticized his team's pre-game preparation, scored 13 of his season-high 18 points in the second half and added nine assists.

For the fourth straight game, the Knicks (1-3) surrendered more than 100 points. But they also outscored New Orleans 40-30 in the final period.

At least now when LeBron James comes to the Garden on Friday, he won't be facing a winless team.

On a night when LeBron's favorite baseball team, the Yankees, were involved in Game 5 of the World Series in Philadelphia, the Knicks were hardly the biggest sports story in the Big Apple.

But they'll take the win just the same.

"To get that first win, sometimes it gets a little hairy," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said with a laugh.

One night removed from his verbal altercation with Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo that has spurred a formal review by the league, Paul was brilliant again, finishing with a game-high 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting and 13 assists. He was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Paul was the subject of magnified attention after he and Rondo tangled under the basket in the second quarter of the Celtics' 97-87 win over the Hornets on Sunday night. Both players were assessed technicals and later verbally jousted after the game.

The Associated Press wrote that, "After the game, Paul pursued Rondo toward the Celtics' locker room and had to be blocked by Boston assistant coaches."

Via his Twitter feed, Paul denied the specifics of the account, referring to an alleged shouting match with Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau.

"... [Just] to clear this up I never came close to approaching the Celts locker room last [night]. Not sure where that's coming from. Also me [and Celtics assistant coach Tom] Thibodeau never got in a shouting match. We talked. ... [Too] much respect for him, crazy how it's twisted."

Told that the league was looking into the matter, Paul said, "First I heard of that."

Emeka Okafor scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Hornets and David West added 21 points.

After West cut the Knicks' lead to 94-92 with 6:12 remaining, the Knicks rattled off an 8-0 run to seize a 102-92 lead with 4:09 left. Harrington and Lee each scored four points in the spurt and Harrington made a nifty steal on the wing that led to two points the other way.

New Orleans cut it to 106-99 on a three-point play by Paul, but Lee hit a driving layup to extend the lead to 108-99.

After falling behind by 31, 21 and 23 points in their first three games, the Knicks decided to get off to a good start for once.

D'Antoni looked like a genius for giving the 11-year veteran Hughes his first start of the season. Hughes, who was out of the nine-man rotation to start the season, scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds as the Knicks seized a 58-52 halftime lead.

He also played tough defense on Paul, who managed just three points while dishing eight assists in the first half. It was the second straight strong game for Hughes, who scored 18 off the bench in Saturday's lost to Philadelphia.

D'Antoni swapped Hughes for Jared Jeffries in the starting lineup, putting Hughes at the two guard and switching Wilson Chandler to the four spot.

"The big thing about Larry is his maturity," Lee said. "He's a veteran. He could've easily been very upset about not playing the first couple games and instead he kept his mouth shut. He kept working hard. And that means he's a pro.

"Although tonight he had 20 points and was great offensively, his biggest attribute is his defense."

Said Hughes: "If you contribute on either end of the court then I think you've done your job."

Paul scored 11 points in the third period as New Orleans outscored the Knicks 29-19 to take an 81-77 advantage.

But with Paul on the bench early in the fourth quarter, the Knicks rallied late.

Paul, whose team is 1-3, admitted to being envious of players like James, who has reached the NBA Finals, and Carmelo Anthony, who has reached the Western Conference Finals.

"I'm envious, I'm very envious because those guys have been where I want to get to," Paul said. "This is my fifth year in the league and I'm not trying to wait until I'm an old veteran in this league to try to win a championship. We're trying to win now."

NOTES: Jeffries took three stitches over his right eye after getting elbowed by Hilton Armstrong. "I thought somebody punched me in the eye," he said...Knicks guard Nate Robinson sported a Yankees hat and was on crutches. He could be out up to two weeks with a sprained right ankle.