Ewing carries Knicks to double overtime win over Lakers

[Reuters]

LOS ANGELES (Reuter) - Patrick Ewing, coming off his worst
game of the season, saved his best for last Sunday and scored 10
points in the second overtime as the New York Knicks outlasted
the Los Angeles Lakers 127-121.
Ewing, who had seven points on 1-of-8 shooting in Friday's
84-64 loss at Seattle, scored 34 points and pulled down 25
rebounds -- both season highs for the All Star -- to help the
Knicks (40-15) post their eighth win in nine games.
Ewing took charge after the Knicks blew a 10-point lead in
the final three minutes of regulation. In the last two minutes
of the game, he had five points, two rebounds and a block.
``I was disappointed that we blew the lead, but I'm happy we
got the win,'' Ewing said. ``We could've blown the lead and lost
and that would have been worse, but it was a hard-fought game
and we did what we had to do to get the win.
``I told Jeff (head coach Van Gundy) and the rest of the
coaching staff to give me the damn ball (in OT).''
Elden Campbell, filling in at center for the injured
Shaquille O'Neal, had a career-high 40 points and 10 rebounds
for the Lakers (38-16), who have lost three of four and fell
one-half game behind Seattle for the Pacific Division lead.
A Campbell bucket gave the Lakers their last lead, but he
fouled out as Ewing converted a three-point play with 1:14 to go
that put New York ahead 122-121.
``We just kept battling, we just ran out of bodies,'' Lakers
guard Byron Scott said.
At Utah, Gary Payton scored nine of his 28 points in
overtime -- including the game-winning basket with three-tenths
of a second left -- as the Seattle SuperSonics edged the Utah
Jazz 89-87 for their sixth straight victory.
Payton scored all but two of his team's points in the extra
session and sank a long jumper from the corner to lift Seattle
(38-15) into first place in the Pacific.
Detlef Schrempf added 20 points for Seattle. Karl Malone led
Utah (38-15) with 32 points and 10 rebounds.
In Houston, Brent Price scored nine of his 10 points in a
second-quarter burst as the Houston Rockets got back on track
with a 95-85 victory over the punchless San Antonio Spurs.
Hakeem Olajuwon scored 21 points and Charles Barkley added
19 for Houston (36-19), who had lost nine of their last 12.
Dominique Wilkins scored 28 points for the Spurs.
At Washington, Otis Thorpe had a dunk and short jumper in a
decisive 8-0 fourth-quarter run to lead the Detroit Pistons to
an 85-79 victory over the Washington Bullets.
The Pistons extended their winning streak to six games and
improved to 40-13. Aaron McKie led Detroit with 16 points.
The Bullets are 0-17 against first and second-place teams
this season. Chris Webber, after missing five games with back
injury, led Washington with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
At Indiana, Penny Hardaway and Horace Grant combined for 13
points in a second-half run as the Orlando Magic used a balanced
attack to pin a 99-90 defeat on the Indiana Pacers.
Grant finished with 19 points and Hardaway added 17 for
Orlando. Reggie Miller scored 26 points and Rik Smits added 14
for Indiana.
In Miami, fill-in center Isaac Austin scored 15 points to
lead seven players in double figures as the Miami Heat used a
late fourth-quarter spurt to defeat the Denver Nuggets 95-86.
Atlantic Division leading Miami (42-13), playing its first
game without injured All-Star center Alonzo Mourning, trailed
82-81 with 5:57 to play but used a 12-2 run to seize control.
LaPhonso Ellis had 29 points and nine rebounds for Denver.
In Vancouver, Bobby Phills scored 10 of his 23 points in the
fourth quarter to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 91-84
victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies.
Tyrone Hill had 18 points and 17 rebounds for the Cavaliers
(30-23), who won for the fifth time in six games.
Bryant Reeves had 26 points for the Grizzlies.
At New Jersey, newly acquired Sam Cassell scored 13 of his
20 points in the pivotal third quarter as the New Jersey Nets
dealt the Boston Celtics their 10th straight loss 109-93.
Kendall Gill scored 24 points to lead the Nets, who won for
the first time since the nine-player trade with Dallas on
Monday. Eric Williams scored 27 points and Rick Fox added 22 for
the road-weary Celtics, who completed a terrible 0-9 trip.
In Milwaukee, the Clippers held the Bucks scoreless for six
minutes in the fourth quarter as Los Angeles rallied for a 99-86
victory for their first road win in six weeks.
Darrick Martin scored 19 points to lead the Clippers.
Glenn Robinson scored 25 points for the Bucks.
In Phoenix, former Sun Michael Finley scored 20 points,
including a late three-pointer, as the Dallas Mavericks rallied
from a 16-point deficit to beat Phoenix 88-86.
``It was real emotional,'' Finley said. ``It's like going
against your big little brother. You want to beat them.''
Shawn Bradley, who came to the Mavs in a nine-player deal
with the Nets last Monday, had 18 points and 10 rebounds for
Dallas, who won for the first time since the blockbuster deal.
Cedric Ceballos had 22 points and 14 rebounds for Phoenix.
Jason Kidd had 14 points and 11 rebounds in his first
appearance against his former team since he was traded from
Dallas in December. ``To lose at home and have a big lead like
that slip away is very disappointing,'' Kidd said.