Camby Helps Knicks Win Sixth in a Row

Thanks to the defensive job Marcus Camby did on Tracy McGrady, the New York Knicks won their sixth game in a row and held their opponent under 100 points for the 27th consecutive time.

Camby took over the defensive assignment on McGrady in the third quarter at New York and held it for the rest of the night, containing a player that no one else could stop as the Knicks defeated Orlando, 95-92, in overtime Thursday night.

“I used to play him one-on-one all the time,” said Camby, who was a teammate of McGrady’s on the Toronto Raptors during McGrady’s first NBA season in 1997-98. “He wasn’t the player that he is now. Now he’s like a superstar.”

Camby had 22 points and 12 rebounds, but his biggest contribution came on defense. Often having to guard McGrady on the perimeter, Camby forced Orlando’s leading scorer to miss three shots and commit a turnover on four of the Magic’s final five possessions in overtime.

McGrady finished with 36 points, 20 of which came in the first half before Camby was switched onto him defensively. McGrady scored the Magic’s first six points of overtime but was shut out the rest of the way as the Knicks extended their longest winning streak of the season.

The Magic started the game with a 15-0 run as the Knicks missed their first 10 shots, prompting Coach Jeff Van Gundy to replace four-fifths of his lineup and send in reserves Luc Longley, Erick Strickland, Rick Brunson and Kurt Thomas. The Knicks quickly broke out of their offensive funk by scoring on their next two possessions, but trailed at the end of the quarter, 26-11.

“It was an embarrassing moment getting subbed like that down 15-0,” Camby said.

Knick forward Glen Rice missed his second consecutive game because of a sore ligament in his left foot.

Chicago 98, Washington 96--Elton Brand made a 17-foot jumper at the buzzer as the Bulls survived a wild finish at Chicago.

Chicago’s Bryce Drew made a three-point basket with 9.9 seconds left to give the Bulls a 96-93 lead but then fouled Washington’s Chris Whitney on a three-pointer with 1.8 seconds remaining.

Whitney calmly sank all three free throws for another tie.

After a timeout, Drew inbounded the ball to Brand, who took one dribble and made a jumper over Calvin Booth to give the Bulls--who had blown an 11-point fourth-quarter lead--the victory.

Houston 107, Detroit 97--A career-high 46 points by Jerry Stackhouse wasn’t enough for the Pistons at Houston.

Stackhouse’s total was a point short of the most by an opposing player at Compaq Center, by Mitch Richmond on Dec. 15, 1995.

Stackhouse, who scored 44 points against Toronto in Detroit’s season opener, was 15 of 27 from the field and 13 of 14 from the free-throw line. He scored 23 points in the first half, the 10th time this season he reached 20 after two quarters.

Minnesota 105, Seattle 92--Terrell Brandon scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half, and Wally Szczerbiak had 13 of his 17 in the third quarter as the Timberwolves won at Minneapolis.

Despite a nagging groin injury, Gary Payton led the SuperSonics with 19 points.

Miami 81, New Jersey 78--Anthony Mason had 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Heat pushed its home win streak to five games.

After blowing almost all of a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Heat survived a scare when the Nets were unable to get off a shot in the closing seconds.