NBA ROUNDUP : Backcourt Leads Pistons Over Knicks

Joe Dumars scored 29 points and Isiah Thomas added 20 as the Detroit Pistons defeated the New York Knicks, 117-106, Saturday night at Auburn Hills, Mich.

It was the Pistons’ fifth consecutive victory.

Dumars, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, had five points during a 15-5 run that put away the Knicks. Dumars also made 13 of 13 free throws.

Patrick Ewing scored 29 points for the Knicks. He scored 20 points in the first half, but appeared to tire in the fourth quarter when he scored only three.

The win lifted the Pistons to within percentage points of the Chicago Bulls for first place in the Central Division.

“We got great support from a lot of people,” Detroit Coach Chuck Daly said. “Any time you beat New York, you do a lot of things well offensively and defensively. We needed the win.”

The victory was Detroit’s ninth in 10 games and gave the Pistons a 22-11 record. That’s the same record they had after 33 games last season, when they posted the best record in the league and won their first NBA title.

The Knicks had won 10 of their last 11 and four consecutive on the road.

“We got our tails kicked,” Knick Coach Stu Jackson said. “They played well and we played well in spots. Down at the end, their defense was better than ours. They’re a very physical team.”

Utah 123, Denver 120--Karl Malone capped a 48-point performance with a three-point play with eight seconds left in overtime to lead the Jazz at Denver.

Malone made a layup off John Stockton’s 15th assist and was fouled by Eddie Hughes. Malone added the free throw, giving Utah a 123-120 lead, and Todd Lichti missed a desperation three-point shot for Denver.

Trailing 120-115, Denver tied the score on two free throws by Lichti and a three-point basket by Hughes with 1:02 remaining.

Walter Davis scored 36 points and Fat Lever added 19 for Denver. It was the Nuggets’ second loss in 14 home games.

Milwaukee 118, Chicago 111--Jack Sikma scored 21 points and led a third-quarter surge to snap the Bucks’ eight-game losing streak against Central Division rivals.

The Bucks’ victory was their first at home over the Bulls since February 1987. Alvin Robertson, Jeff Grayer and Ricky Pierce had 18 points apiece for the Bucks.

Michael Jordan led the Bulls with 35 points and Bill Cartwright added 18. Jordan twisted a knee with three minutes left in the first quarter. He iced it for four minutes, returned, and finished the first half with 13 points, although he was limping noticeably when he left the court at halftime.

Charlotte 117, Indiana 111--The Hornets, playing at home, beat a team with a winning record for the first time this season, leaving Pacers Coach Dick Versace to vent the frustration of four consecutive losses at referee Hank Armstrong at the end of the game.

Versace had to be restrained by one of his players, LaSalle Thompson.

San Antonio 109, Minnesota 96--David Robinson, Terry Cummings and Willie Anderson scored 22 points each as the Spurs, leaders of the Midwest Division, matched last season’s victory total.

The Spurs are 21-7 with 3 1/2 months left in the season after finishing a franchise-worst 21-61 last season.

With the Spurs leading, 80-75, Robinson put the game away with nine consecutive points. He had 15 in the fourth quarter. The Timberwolves’ Scott Roth led all scorers with 24 points and Tony Campbell added 20.

The Spurs led, 56-40, at halftime as Caldwell Jones contributed eight points and three blocked shots. The second one gave Jones 1,500 career blocked shots. Jones, 39, is the oldest player in the NBA. He finished with 11 points in 25 minutes.

Houston 124, Philadelphia 119--Akeem Olajuwon had 29 points and 15 rebounds and his three-point play with 22 seconds left in overtime sparked the Rockets at Houston.

Buck Johnson scored a career-high 28 points, Otis Thorpe had 22 and Sleepy Floyd added 19 and a career-high 19 assists for the Rockets.

Atlanta 105, New Jersey 96-- Moses Malone led the Hawks with 26 points and 12 rebounds, hitting 12 of 12 from the free-throw line, to hand the visiting Nets their fifth consecutive loss.

John Long, playing his first game for the Hawks after signing a 10-day contract, hit a layup to start the winning rally with 11:24 to play, and Alexander Volkov converted a three-point play to put the Hawks in front for good.

Cleveland 123, Orlando 112-- Rookie Chucky Brown scored a season-high 30 points and Steve Kerr scored all of his career-high 19 in the fourth quarter at Orlando.

Brown, a second-round pick from North Carolina State, hit 12 of 17 shots to finish nearly 24 points over his average.

Kerr topped his previous career high of 15 points by hitting five three-point baskets and four free throws in the fourth quarter.

Orlando has lost 16 of 18 games.

Seattle 120, Phoenix 110--Xavier McDaniel scored 10 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter as the SuperSonics won at home.

Seattle won for the second time in three games with guard Avery Johnson in the lineup. Johnson, replacing Nate McMillan, had 11 assists.

Portland 124, Sacramento 121--The visiting Trail Blazers, using Terry Porter’s 25 points, spoiled Dick Motta’s debut as the Kings’ coach.

Two three-point baskets by Vinny Del Negro in the final eight seconds weren’t enough for the Kings to overtake the Trail Blazers. Wayman Tisdale scored 30 points, and Danny Ainge and Kenny Smith each added 23 for the Kings.