Knicks Still Hate Bulls, Win 73-68; Hawks Soar

CHICAGO--The Knicks and Bulls, two teams that created one of the NBA's great rivalries with a series of angry, trash-talking confrontations over the years, stuck to the same approach last night.

The mood was heated but the quality of the basketball took a dip as Patrick Ewing scored 18 points, Marcus Camby blocked eight shots and Allan Houston had nine points in the fourth quarter of a sloppy 73-68 victory over the talent-challenged Bulls.

With no Michael Jordan to break the Knicks in the final quarter as he did so often, the Bulls turned to Toni Kukoc. But after shooting 6-of-21 in his previous game, Kukoc was even worse. He made just 4 of 22 field goal attempts and missed two key shots in the final 1:22, including a key three-pointer with 36 seconds left.

The aging, creaky-kneed Ewing, still seeking his first NBA title in his 14th season, then hit a banker in the lane and the Knicks had their second victory in a row after starting 0-2.

It was their first win at the United Center since April, 1997.

The Bulls shot just 26.6 percent, making 21 of 79 shots, while falling to 1-3. New York wasn't much better, hitting just 26 of 71 (36.6 percent)

Ewing lost his cool with 2:11 left when he threw an elbow at Bill Wennington, who had fouled him. But the Bulls missed the free throw on the technical foul and Ewing made one at the other end.

The Knicks scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter as part of a 13-0 run that began at the end of the third. That opened up a six-point lead as the Bulls didn't score for the first five minutes of the final period.

Brent Barry led Chicago with 15 points.

The Bulls missed 13 of their first 15 shots and shot 10-of-39 (25 percent) from the field in the first half but still led 45-40. That was thanks to a 22-of-24 performance at the free throw line.

Hawks 100, Hornets 88

ATLANTA--With Steve Smith leading the way, the Atlanta Hawks jumped to a 21-point lead in the first quarter and went on to beat the Charlotte Hornets 100-88 last night.

Smith scored 11 of his team-high 17 points in the opening period as the Hawks cruised to a 33-12 lead and maintained a double-figure lead the rest of the way.

The Hornets eliminated Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs last season, but the teams have since gone in opposite directions.

Charlotte (1-4) is struggling with Anthony Mason out for the season and Glen Rice sidelined for at least six weeks after elbow surgery. The Hawks, on the other hand, bolstered their bench after the lockout and have started the season with four victories in five games.

Atlanta scored the first nine points and took control before many fans even took their seats. The Hawks shot 14-of-19 and outrebounded the Hornets 15-4 in the opening period, limiting Charlotte to 27 percent (6-of-22) from the field.

Smith nearly outscored the Hornets all by himself and Dikembe Mutombo doubled up Charlotte on the boards with eight rebounds. LaPhonso Ellis and Alan Henderson added eight points in the first quarter, more than anyone on the Hornets could muster.

Smith, Mutombo and Ellis didn't play at all in the second period and the other two starters, Henderson and Mookie Blaylock, worked a total of only five minutes. But the reserves were able to keep pace with the Hornets, pushing the lead as high as 28 points before the Hawks settled for a 57-36 advantage at halftime.

Atlanta got sloppy in the second half and Charlotte cut the deficit to 81-71 on Eldridge Recasner's three-point play with 8:30 remaining. The hornets had two chances to cut Atlanta's lead to single digits but failed to convert, and the Hawks pulled away on baskets by Mookie Blaylock and Ty Corbin.

Derrick Coleman led the Hornets with 17 points.

Timberwolves 86, Lakers 75

MINNEAPOLIS--With Shaquille O'Neal on the bench with an injury and the rest of their starters colder than the Minnesota weather, the Los Angeles Lakers couldn't keep up with the Timberwolves.

The Lakers suffered through one of the worst shooting nights in franchise history and Kevin Garnett scored 21 points to lead Minnesota to an 86-75 victory last night.

O'Neal, who led the Lakers in scoring in the first four games and was second in the NBA with a 30.5 average, sat out with a strained right abdominal muscle. He sustained the injury Wednesday night at Denver and will be re-evaluated Friday.

Sitting on the bench in a red hooded sweatshirt, O'Neal could only watch as the Lakers shot 33.3 percent, including 28.5 percent by the starters. The Lakers needed to hit three straight shots in the final minute to avoid the franchise-worst 31.2 percent shooting they endured against Denver on Nov. 12, 1993.

After shooting just 30 percent through the first three games, Garnett was 9-for-19 to lead the Wolves. Sam Mitchell had 20 points and six rebounds off the bench, and Joe Smith added 17 points.

Kobe Bryant had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, his fifth double-double in as many games. But he shot just 8-for-21 and was the only Los Angeles player in double figures.

The Lakers wouldn't speculate how long O'Neal might be out; he missed 21 games with a strained abdominal on the left side last season.

Elden Campbell started in place of O'Neal and had a terrible night, shooting 2-for-10.

Magic 87, Pistons 81

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.--Penny Hardaway scored 22 points, including seven down the stretch, to lead the Orlando Magic to an 87-81 victory over the Detroit Pistons yesterday.

Grant Hill scored 25 for the Pistons, who looked tired and out of sync for the first time in five games.

The Magic took a 63-53 lead into the fourth quarter, and any hopes the Pistons had for a comeback appeared dampened when Michael Doleac and Nick Anderson opened the quarter with 3-pointers for 69-55 Orlando lead.

Still, the Pistons worked the deficit down to three points four times late in the game--the last at 84-81 on a layup by Bison Dele with 53 seconds remaining. Hill appeared to make it a one-point game on a layup with 29.9 seconds left, but instead picked up an offensive foul.

Hill missed a jumper from near the free throw line with 19.3 seconds left, and Darrell Armstrong closed out the scoring with three free throws for the Magic.

Dele, who finished with 21 points, scored six points in an 8-0 Detroit run to open the third quarter, closing the Pistons' deficit to 45-43. But Hardaway hit a 3-pointer from the right corner and Horace Grant scored on a layup to start an 18-8 run that put Orlando ahead 63-51 with 1:24 left in the quarter.