Knicks Lose Two Ways

The New York Knicks lost twice Tuesday, on the court to the Washington Wizards and in the court of Commissioner David Stern, who served as judge and jury.

The Knicks missed a chance to clinch a playoff spot by losing, 104-102, to the Wizards at New York.

Tracy Murray scored 27 points as Washington ended a three-game losing streak and kept its faint playoff hopes alive.

About an hour before the game, Stern issued a ruling that the Knicks’ protest of Sunday’s one-point loss at Miami had been denied. Houston had made a buzzer-beating shot in that game, but the officials waved it off, saying it came too late. Stern admitted the referees had made a poor judgment call but said it could not be overturned by a protest because there had been no misinterpretation of the rules.

OTHER GAMES

Karl Malone had 44 points, 14 rebounds and six assists at Salt Lake City, where the Utah Jazz beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 126-109. . . . Gary Payton scored 27 points at Seattle to lead the SuperSonics to a 110-98 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies, enabling Seattle to reach the 60-win plateau for the third time in five seasons. . . . The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Sacramento Kings, 92-66 at Portland. The win, combined with Minnesota’s loss at Utah, clinched the No. 6 playoff spot in the Western Conference for the Trail Blazers. . . . With Alan Henderson scoring a career-high 39 points and Mookie Blaylock getting a career-high 10 steals, the Atlanta Hawks hung on to beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 95-94, at Atlanta. . . . Shawn Kemp had 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 95-86 victory over the Boston Celtics at Cleveland, clinching at least sixth place in the Eastern Conference for the Cavaliers. Antoine Walker led the Celtics with 31 points. . . . Mario Elie scored 23 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, to help the Houston Rockets overcame a 14-point halftime deficit and beat the Denver Nuggets, 94-88, at Houston. . . . Glen Rice scored 30 points for the Charlotte Hornets in a 104-82 victory over the Bucks at Milwaukee. . . . Doug Christie scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, and Marcus Camby set a team record with 11 blocked shots as the Toronto Raptors broke a 13-game losing streak with a 96-92 victory over the New Jersey Nets at East Rutherford, N.J.

NBA Notes

The fourth-longest consecutive-game playing streak in NBA history probably will end at 736 games after the Nets’ Michael Cage injured his left hamstring in Tuesday night’s game against the Raptors. New Jersey spokesman John Mertz said Cage, 36, who has not missed a game since 1989, would not accompany the Nets to Charlotte for tonight’s game against the Hornets. . . . Houston forward Charles Barkley went on the injured list because of a strained left groin.