NBA ROUNDUP : Knicks Get Tough, Keep Going Past Pacers

The New York Knick and Indiana Pacer rivalry picked up where it left off last season, with bitterness and contempt.

This time, however, the Knicks prevailed as Charles Smith, two nights after breaking his nose, scored 21 points to trigger a third-quarter spurt that helped hand the Pacers their first loss of the season, 103-95, at New York.

Pacer Coach Larry Brown was ejected with 4:54 remaining after drawing two quick technical fouls in a game that featured 54 fouls, physical play and short tempers. Brown, who refused to leave the court while berating the officials, had to be led away by assistants Gar Heard and Billy King.

Earlier, Reggie Miller and his Knick nemesis, John Starks, got into a chin-to-chin argument as teammates tried to separate the two. Before it could escalate, Knick Coach Don Nelson sent Starks to the bench.

Derek Harper led the Knicks with 22 points and Patrick Ewing added 21.

In the third quarter, the Knicks had a 17-6 run and smothered Indiana, which scored only 16 points and missed 12 of 18 shots from the field.

Miller suffered a bruised shooting hand but had 27 points.

Dallas 104, Milwaukee 94--Jamal Mashburn scored 27 points and Jason Kidd added 22 as the Mavericks improved to 4-0, their best start in team history, with a victory over the Bucks at Dallas.

Vin Baker led the Bucks with 29 points and 14 rebounds.

Chicago 106, Cleveland 88--Overcoming a lackluster first half, Michael Jordan scored 29 points and Scottie Pippen had a triple double at Cleveland to lead the Bulls to their first 4-0 start since 1987.

The Cavaliers, however, have lost their first four games for the first time since 1989.

Pippen finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists.

Bobby Phills led Cleveland with 26 points.

Atlanta 125, Golden State 121--Steve Smith scored 11 of his 28 points during a big third quarter as the Hawks held off the Warriors at Oakland for their third consecutive victory.

Joe Smith, the top pick in the draft, had a career-best 30 points for the Warriors.