Knicks Make Sure Eight Is All for Sonics

The Seattle SuperSonics had a pair of winning streaks halted at eight games on Sunday night, losing, 92-91, to the New York Knicks when Dale Ellis missed a short jumper at the buzzer.

“It was exactly the shot we wanted, we ran the exact play we wanted, the shot just didn’t go down,” Ellis said. “It’s no big deal. They [the Knicks] will be lucky to make the playoffs. We have a legitimate shot to win it all.”

The SuperSonics, who had won eight in a row overall and eight consecutive on the road, had two chances to win it in the final seconds.

Gary Payton--who struggled all night--missed a runner in the lane with four seconds left. The ball went out of bounds after hitting a New York player, giving Seattle one last chance, but Ellis was unable to connect on a jumper from about 10 feet.

It was the first road loss for the SuperSonics since Dec. 7 and their first loss of any kind since Dec. 23.

Larry Johnson scored 20 points for New York, while Detlef Schrempf led Seattle with 23 points and 13 rebounds.

“They were pounding us, we didn’t get any calls and we still had a chance to win,” Payton said. “They still have to come to Seattle to play us, and we’ll be looking forward to seeing them out there.”

Atlanta 107, Washington 102--The Hawks won by making five of six field goals and outscoring the Wizards, 14-9, in overtime, in Washington. The Wizards, losing for only the second time in 12 games at the new MCI Center, made only two of nine shots in overtime after rallying from a 15-point, third-quarter deficit.

Christian Laettner scored 23 points and Steve Smith 22 for the Hawks, whose victory overshadowed a career-high 37 points from Wizard point guard Rod Strickland, who also had eight rebounds and 10 assists. Chris Webber had 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Referee Bennett Salvatore warned the players before the game that he didn’t want a repeat of the trash-talking, albeit good-natured, that spiced up things when the Hawks defeated the Wizards at Atlanta on Friday. As a result, this game was more civil

Miami 96, Vancouver 90--Alonzo Mourning had 17 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots at Vancouver as the Heat handed the Grizzlies their 10th consecutive loss. Tim Hardaway had 20 points and nine assists for the Heat, which won its third in a row. Shareef Abdur-Rahim led Vancouver with 26 points and 10 rebounds.