Ewing Is Now Making Life Difficult on Riley

Pat Riley made the New York Knicks tough to beat, and now they’re beating him.

Patrick Ewing scored 37 points and Charlie Ward made two key three-point shots Wednesday night to help the Knicks defeat Riley’s struggling Miami Heat, 88-79, at Miami.

It was the second meeting between Riley and the team he left after last season amid considerable rancor. The Knicks defeated Miami in New York on Dec. 19, 89-70, when the Heat was without four starters.

Alonzo Mourning had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Miami but failed to contain his fellow Georgetown alumnus, Ewing, who made 16 of 31 shots, including four dunks.

Charlotte 127, Washington 113--Kenny Anderson’s first game as the Hornets’ point guard produced double-figure scoring by all of the Charlotte starters at Charlotte.

Glen Rice had 28 points, Dell Curry 21, Larry Johnson 19 and Matt Geiger 17 for the Hornets.

Detroit 85, San Antonio 84--Terry Mills’ three-point shot with 2.6 seconds left at San Antonio gave the Pistons their second victory over the Spurs in six days.

Houston 98, New Jersey 89--Hakeem Olajuwon scored 36 points, including eight in a row late in the fourth quarter, as the Rockets ended their three-game losing streak at East Rutherford, N.J.

Phoenix 101, Minnesota 91--Charles Barkley scored nine of his 22 points in the decisive third quarter as the Suns defeated the Timberwolves at Minneapolis. It was only the third victory in 12 games for the Suns.

Cleveland 91, Philadelphia 88--Chris Mills had 22 points to help the Cavaliers snap a two-game losing streak and win at Philadelphia.

Chicago 104, Vancouver 84--Michael Jordan scored a season-low 12 points but the Bulls breezed to a franchise-record 27th consecutive regular-season home victory.

Indiana 97, Milwaukee 89--Reggie Miller’s 27 points at Milwaukee sparked the Pacers to their fourth consecutive victory.

Utah 100, Golden State 89--John Stockton had 16 assists and Karl Malone had 25 points at Oakland.

The Jazz outscored the Warriors, 32-11, in the second quarter.

Seattle 86, Denver 79--There were eight technical fouls called at Seattle as the SuperSonics handed the Nuggets their fifth consecutive loss.

With Shawn Kemp in foul trouble and Gary Payton making only three of 16 shots, Sam Perkins led the Sonics with 18 points.

NBA Notes

Simon Gourdine, the executive director of the NBA players’ association who turned back an attempt to decertify the union last summer, has been ousted by player representatives. Last month, the union announced its executive board had given Gourdine a two-year contract, but some players, unhappy with the way Gourdine handled negotiations during the summer’s labor strife, criticized the move and forced a vote on the contract. . . . Philadelphia 76er forward Scott Williams underwent successful surgery on his right knee and will be reevaluated in 3-4 weeks.