NBA Roundup : Knicks Notch 16th Straight Victory at Home

The New York Knicks won their 16th straight game at Madison Square Garden Thursday night, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers, 125-109, in a meeting of Eastern Conference division leaders.

The Knicks, atop the Atlantic Division, are 2-1 this season against the Cavaliers, who lead the Central Division with a 32-10 record, the best in the National Basketball Assn.

Patrick Ewing and Gerald Wilkins scored 21 points each and Trent Tucker broke his own team record for 3-point baskets in a season to help New York hold the lead the entire game.

The Knicks, 19-1 at home 29-16 overall, were ahead, 36-25, after the first quarter, but Cleveland closed to 44-43 midway in the second period.

Then Tucker’s 3-point basket, his 70th this season, highlighted a 13-2 run that closed the first half and put the Knicks ahead by 15 points. Tucker’s previous record of 69 3-pointers was set last season.

Cleveland, trailing 111-94, went on a 11-0 run with 8 minutes remaining, but never came within 10 points of the Knicks in the final minutes.

Cleveland, which played without injured forward Larry Nance, was led by Mike Sanders, who scored 30 points and Ron Harper, who had 23.

Denver 112, Atlanta 103--Alex English scored 36 points and Fat Lever recorded his fourth triple-double of the season as the Nuggets held off a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Hawks at Denver.

Atlanta, which trailed by 20 points early in the third quarter, pulled within one point of Denver with 4:03 remaining in the game. But the Nuggets outscored the Hawks, 9-1, to secure the win.

Atlanta played without Dominique Wilkins, who missed only the 14th game of his 7-year career with a bruised right thumb, suffered in Wednesday night’s game against the Utah Jazz.

Lever had 23 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, and Michael Adams added 21 points for Denver. Reggie Theus led Atlanta with 22 points.

Chicago 109, Sacramento 98-- Michael Jordan, held to 9 first-half points, scored 31 in the second half to lead the Bulls past the Kings at Chicago. It was Chicago’s ninth victory in its last 12 games.

The Kings, 3-21 on the road, had a 55-46 lead early in the third quarter when Jordan scored 15 points to fuel a 22-7 run and give the Bulls a 68-62 advantage.

Seattle 100, Miami 93--Derrick McKey scored 9 of his 19 points during an 11-2 fourth-quarter run to lead the SuperSonics to victory at Miami.

The SuperSonics led, 83-79, in the fourth quarter when Dale Ellis, who scored 30 points, began the Sonics’ run with a tip-in.

Golden State 127, New Jersey 113--Mitch Richmond scored 32 points and Terry Teagle added 22 and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Warriors over the Nets at Oakland. It was the Warriors’ seventh straight victory and the ninth in their last 10 games.

The Nets’ Lester Conner had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists--his first career triple-double.

The Nets played without Joe Barry Carroll, out with lower back strain, and Buck Williams, who is out with the flu.