Knicks Win in Overtime

Latrell Sprewell’s three-point basket with 7.9 seconds left in regulation sent the game into overtime and the Knicks went on to a 111-101 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night at New York.

Sprewell scored 11 of his 21 points in a five-minute span of the fourth quarter and overtime, and Marcus Camby had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks.

Denver 115, Atlanta 100--Nick Van Exel had 23 points and 20 assists, and Raef LaFrentz scored 24 points as the Nuggets beat the Hawks at Denver.

Ron Mercer added 19 points for the Nuggets, and rookie Ryan Bowen grabbed 11 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end. The Nuggets had 22 offensive rebounds and scored 23 points off second chances.

Isaiah Rider led Atlanta with 28 points.

Philadelphia 117, Seattle 98--Allen Iverson scored 37 points at Philadelphia and Larry Hughes added 27 as the 76ers won for the first time this season.

The 76ers ended a 12-game losing streak against Seattle, dating to 1992.

Gary Payton led Seattle with 28 points, and Ruben Patterson had a career-high 22.

The start of the game, the 76ers’ home opener, was delayed twice for nearly a half hour because of smoke and debris from fireworks.

Orlando 102, Houston 97--Chris Gatling scored 22 points and Darrell Armstrong made four free throws in the final 13 seconds at Houston to lead the Magic to their 10th consecutive victory over the Rockets.

Reserve Cuttino Mobley scored 25 points for winless Houston, which hasn’t beaten the Magic since the final game of its sweep in the 1995 NBA finals.

Around the league

Charlotte Hornet rookie Baron Davis has only a small piece of torn cartilage in his left knee and surgery is unlikely. If the pain persists, the knee will be examined again, but he is expected to rejoin the team today and play against Milwaukee on Wednesday night. The injury is to the same knee Davis injured while a freshman at UCLA. . . . Cleveland Cavalier center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, whose foot problems have limited him to five games the past two seasons, has been advised by a doctor to have a screw surgically inserted into his sore left foot. . . . The Boston Celtics waived rookie guard Wayne Turner and replaced him with Doug Overton.