NBA ROUNDUP : Knicks Defeat Magic for 13th Consecutive Win

The New York Knicks are feeling pretty good about themselves these days, and with good reason.

The Knicks ran their winning streak to 13 games Sunday with a 111-90 rout of the Orlando Magic, their closest competitor in the Atlantic Division.

“We’re playing extremely well right now,” said Knick center Patrick Ewing, who led all scorers at Orlando with 31 points and had 11 rebounds and five blocks.

“Everybody is contributing something,” Ewing said. “I thought Charles Oakley did a great job getting us a lead in the first half and Anthony Bonner gave us a big lift in the second half.”

Shaquille O’Neal scored 30 points and had 16 rebounds for Orlando, which made only one serious run at New York in the game. The Magic cut a 21-point deficit to six, 79-73, with 18 seconds left in the third quarter, but a 16-1 run by the Knicks put the game away.

Orlando came into the game as the second-best shooting team in the NBA, but the Knicks held them to 43%.

The Knicks scored 29 points off Orlando’s 17 turnovers while the Magic could get only seven points from New York’s seven turnovers.

New York was ahead throughout except for 25 seconds early in the first quarter. The Knicks had an eight-point lead by the end of the first period and stretched it to 15 before Ewing finally found the range. He didn’t score in the first 16 minutes.

Phoenix 113, Houston 98--Charles Barkley and Cedric Ceballos scored 20 points each and Kevin Johnson had 15 points and 15 assists at Phoenix as the Suns qualified for the playoffs.

Houston’s chances of coming back suffered a major setback when Hakeem Olajuwon was ejected midway through the fourth quarter.

Olajuwon, who had 21 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks, spoke to referee Bill Spooner after Dan Majerle scored following an offensive rebound. Spooner reacted by sending the center to the showers.

Boston 124, Philadelphia 122--Dino Radja scored 36 points and grabbed 11 rebounds at Hartford, Conn., as the Celtics won in overtime to extend the 76ers’ losing streak to seven games.

Dee Brown gave the Celtics a three-point lead on a jumper with 46 seconds remaining in overtime left and then Johnny Dawkins’ tip-in narrowed the lead to 123-122 with two-tenths of a second left. Brown was fouled on the inbounds pass and made the second of two free throws. The 76ers couldn’t get a shot off on their last possession.

The game might have marked Boston’s last regular-season appearance at the Hartford Civic Center, the team’s home-away-from home since 1974.

For more than a month, representatives of the team and the Civic Center have had discussions concerning a contract extension. The outcome of the talks won’t be known until at least July.

San Antonio 107, Portland 95--David Robinson, in foul trouble and cold from the field in the first half, scored 20 of his 36 points in the third quarter to lead the Spurs at Portland.

The Spurs, who moved into a virtual tie with Houston atop the Midwest Division, used a 10-1 run midway through the third period to take control.

Cleveland 111, Detroit 99--Gerald Wilkins scored 28 points and Tyrone Hill grabbed 13 rebounds to pace the Cavaliers at Richfield, Ohio.