Knicks Prevail on a Day of Changes

Herb Williams made the most of his one game as Knick coach.

Taking over on an interim basis after Don Chaney was fired, Williams guided the Knicks to a 120-110 victory Wednesday night over the Orlando Magic at New York.

The game was almost an afterthought on a day that team President Isiah Thomas fired Chaney and his two top assistants and hired Lenny Wilkens as the new coach.

“Don hired me, he was a close friend, I respected him a lot and learned from him,” Williams said. “But changes had to be made, and he [Thomas] made changes. I’m happy to come up with the win.”

Stephon Marbury had 26 points and 10 assists for the Knicks. Tracy McGrady had 28 points for Orlando, which lost its seventh straight on the road and for the eighth time in nine games overall.

Minnesota 100, San Antonio 93 -- Sam Cassell scored 33 points, including eight straight late in the fourth quarter, to help the Timberwolves to sole possession of first place in the Midwest Division.

Tim Duncan had 36 points and 20 rebounds for the Spurs but again struggled from the foul line, shooting eight for 15. Minnesota held San Antonio to only seven points in the final 4:24 in its second straight victory at San Antonio.

Dallas 125, Philadelphia 122 -- Michael Finley scored 32 points, and the Mavericks won in double overtime despite blowing a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter at Dallas.

Dirk Nowitzki scored five of his 25 points in the second overtime for Dallas, including the go-ahead jumper with 24 seconds left. Glenn Robinson led the 76ers with 34 points.

Indiana 85, Atlanta 78 -- Reggie Miller scored all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter, including three three-pointers in the final 6:06, at Indianapolis. Jermaine O’Neal finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Pacers. Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 16 points for Atlanta.

Detroit 95, Toronto 91 -- Mehmet Okur had a career-high 27 points at Auburn Hills, Mich., and the Pistons used an 11-1 run to overcome a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit for their 10th straight victory. Vince Carter scored 27 points for Toronto.

Houston 95, Boston 80 -- Cuttino Mobley had 24 points to lead the Rockets to their third straight road victory. The Celtics’ Paul Pierce was held to four points on one-for-10 shooting.

New Jersey 115, Washington 103 -- Rodney Rogers, filling in for suspended forward Kenyon Martin, had 18 points and a season-high 13 rebounds at East Rutherford, N.J., to lead the Nets to their eighth victory in their last 10 games.