NBA ROUNDUP : Knicks Hold Bulls to a Season-Low 68 Points

Coach Pat Riley said it was the way the New York Knicks need to play to win a championship--claw for every rebound and loose ball and shut down the opposition.

Chicago Coach Phil Jackson said it was the kind of game that will turn fans off to the NBA.

“We just wanted to get after them, and right from the get-go we got after them defensively,” Riley said after the Knicks opened a 22-point halftime lead and cruised to an 86-68 victory over the Bulls at New York on Sunday. “Defensively, we got done what we wanted to do.”

The 68 points were a season low for the Bulls.

Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley dominated inside in the Knicks’ big first half. Ewing had 11 of his 20 points and 11 of his 18 rebounds and Oakley all of his 10 points and 10 of his 13 rebounds in the first half, which ended with the Knicks leading 50-28 after outscoring the Bulls 31-13 in the second quarter.

“I’m sure the NBA wasn’t happy the game was on national TV,” Jackson said. “It wasn’t pretty to coach and it wasn’t pretty to watch.”

Scottie Pippen scored 25 points for the Bulls but missed 14 of 23 shots. He is 21 of 66 since being voted All-Star game MVP.

New Jersey 122, Washington 101--Lakers take note: The Nets are winning without Derrick Coleman, the subject of Laker trade rumors who has been sidelined for four games with a sprained left ankle. The Nets’ victory over the Bullets at East Rutherford, N.J., was their fifth in a row.

Armon Gilliam has been filling the void nicely. The former Nevada Las Vegas star had 24 points and 10 rebounds in the victory over the Bullets and has averaged 17.8 points and 11.7 rebounds in the four games.

Benoit Benjamin made all nine of his shots from the field and finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Kenny Anderson, who had a career-high 42 points in a victory over Bullets on Friday night, got into foul trouble early and was on the bench four minutes into the game. He managed 14 points and nine assists.

Washington rookie Calbert Cheaney, who had career highs of 30 and 31 points in his last two outings, left the game late in the second quarter because of a tendon injury that could sideline him for the rest of the season. X-rays will be taken today.

Indiana 101, Seattle 95--Derrick McKey scored 27 points against his former teammates, leading the Pacers over the SuperSonics at Indianapolis.

In the third quarter McKey suffered a cut hand that required six stitches, but he returned with 7:49 to play and the Pacers trailing, 83-79. The victory was the ninth in 10 games for the Pacers and moved them above the .500 mark at 25-24, the first time they’ve had a winning record since they were 40-39 late last season.

Portland 102, Boston 93--The Trail Blazers used a 20-5 run in the second quarter to take command at Portland. It was the Celtics’ eighth consecutive loss to tie the second-longest losing streak in team history. Clifford Robinson scored 24 points for Portland.

Cleveland 105, Charlotte 101--Mark Price made two free throws with 1:02 left in overtime, then added a jumper in the closing seconds, leading the Cavaliers over the Hornets at Charlotte, N.C.

Bobby Phills, averaging 5.9 points, led the Cavaliers with a career-high 23 points. Price finished with 22.

Orlando 109, Milwaukee 104--Shaquille O’Neal scored 38 points and rolled in a soft shot with 1:07 left that helped the Magic win at Milwaukee.

Denver 97, Atlanta 92--Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf scored 19 points and Reggie Williams had 18 as the Nuggets rallied in the fourth quarter to win at Denver.