NBA Roundup : Knicks Edge Jazz, Run Streak to 5

Gerald Wilkins made a 10-foot jump shot with 24 seconds left, and Utah’s Karl Malone missed a shot at the buzzer as the New York Knicks held off the Jazz, 117-116, for their fifth straight victory Thursday night in New York.

The Knicks, trailing by 15 points in the second quarter, rallied to win for the ninth time in 10 home games this season.

Johnny Newman led New York with 31 points. Patrick Ewing and Mark Jackson had 20 each, and Wilkins scored 14.

The victory gave the first-place Knicks a 3 1/2-game lead over the idle Philadelphia 76ers in the Atlantic Division.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been any prouder of this team,” Knick Coach Rick Pitino said. “We just kept hustling and hustling. It was a great tribute to our team. They played as if it was the last game of their lives. I’m exhausted, so I could just imagine how they feel.”

For Utah, Malone and Thurl Bailey scored 33 each and Darrell Griffith 21.

Bailey’s three-point play gave Utah a 116-115 lead with 41 seconds left before Wilkins’ winning shot.

Sacramento 94, Miami 90--Vinny Del Negro sparked a Sacramento rally with 11 fourth-quarter points as the Kings kept the Heat from winning, one night after Miami beat the Clippers for its first-ever NBA victory.

Miami, which blew a 10-point lead at home against Sacramento last week, squandered a 13-point third-quarter advantage this time and fell victim to 35% shooting in the second half.

Del Negro’s two free throws with 4:03 remaining gave Sacramento the lead for good at 84-82. Kenny Smith, who finished with 19 points, had 7 in the final period as the Kings put together their first two-game winning streak of the season.

Rory Sparrow topped all scorers with 24 points for Miami.

Rodney McCray and LaSalle Thompson each had 15 points for Sacramento, and Del Negro finished with 13.

Cleveland 119, Detroit 98--Mark Price scored 20 points, including 17 in the first half, and had 10 assists and 4 steals as the Cavaliers beat the Pistons at Richfield, Ohio.

It was the second straight loss for the Pistons, the first time they have lost two in a row this season. Cleveland won for the seventh time in its last nine games.

Larry Nance and Brad Daugherty scored 22 points each and Ron Harper had 20 for Cleveland. Joe Dumars scored 16 and Dennis Rodman 14 for Detroit.

The victory put the Cavaliers ahead of the Pistons in winning percentage, .737 to .727, but still left them one-half game behind in the Central Division standings.

Houston 124, Golden State 115--Derrick Chievous scored 12 of his 18 points in the second overtime as the Rockets beat the Warriors for the seventh straight time at Houston.

Chievous’ 3-point basket put the Rockets ahead, 111-108, with 3:53 left, and another 3-pointer increased the lead to 118-111 with 2:10 remaining.

Sleepy Floyd led the Rockets with 24 points, Otis Thorpe had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Akeem Olajuwon had 19 points and 19 rebounds and Buck ohnson scored 16.

Chris Mullin scored 28 points and Mitch Richmond 24 points for the Warriors.

Seattle 122, San Antonio 107--Dale Ellis scored 28 points and Xavier McDaniel 27 as the SuperSonics handed the Spurs their fifth straight loss at Seattle.

Willie Anderson led the Spurs with 27 points, and Greg Anderson had 22 points and 17 rebounds.