Cavaliers Feeling Special

Though Wesley Person and Coach Mike Fratello didn’t agree on what it meant, the Cleveland Cavaliers were quite happy after holding off the Bucks, 79-77, at Milwaukee for their 10th consecutive victory.

Person and Shawn Kemp made free throws in the final 29.7 seconds to secure the victory.

“This is very special to me,” said Person, who scored 27 points as Cleveland moved within one game of tying the franchise record for winning streaks. “This is a young team, and any time a young team gets off to a good start, it helps. This streak can help us.”

Kemp added 18 points as the Cavaliers extended their longest streak since 1994, when they won a franchise-tying 11 for the fourth time.

“You just try to win games so you can keep moving on through the season,” Fratello said, downplaying the streak. “The unknown is always out there. You just try to get wins when you can.”

The Bucks, who lost their second game in a row, were led by Glenn Robinson with 20 points and Ray Allen with 19.

New York 107, Minnesota 103--Patrick Ewing scored a season-high 34 points and the Knicks made more free throws than field goals in a victory over the Timberwolves at New York.

The Knicks shot 36 for 44 at the line as they won their seventh in a row at home and sent Minnesota to its ninth loss in 11 games. New York was 33 of 83 from the field.

Stephon Marbury had 22 points and nine assists for Minnesota.

Detroit 103, New Jersey 99--Joe Dumars scored all of his season-high 22 points in the second half to help the Pistons beat the Nets at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Detroit trailed, 49-46, at halftime, but bounced back for its first three-game winning streak of the season. New Jersey has lost three in a row.

New Jersey rookie Keith Van Horn finished with a career-high 24 points in his fourth game.

Orlando 100, Dallas 90--Mark Price scored 18 points and Derek Harper added 16 at Dallas against his former team as the Magic won its fourth in a row.

Michael Finley scored 20 points for the Mavericks, who lost for the 15th time in 17 games. Dennis Scott, traded from Orlando to Dallas in the off-season, had 13 points for the Mavericks, who are 1-3 since Don Nelson took over as coach.

Phoenix 94, Atlanta 78--Steve Nash scored 18 points and made all four of his three-point attempts as the Suns took advantage of cold-shooting Hawks at Phoenix.

The Hawks, who entered the game with the NBA’s best record at 15-4, never recovered after missing 10 of their first 11 shots.

Steve Smith had 16 points and Christian Laettner 15 for Atlanta, which is 0-6 at America West Arena. It was the third consecutive loss for the Hawks.