Knicks 87, Pacers 73

Updated 7:29 PM ET February 19, 2000

By CHRIS SHERIDAN, AP Basketball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Allan Houston could hardly miss, Reggie Miller lost his cool and the New York Knicks dominated the Indiana Pacers in an 87-73 victory Saturday.

Houston made nine of 10 shots in one stretch, scored 13 points in the third quarter and finished with a team-high 19 as New York moved into a tie with Miami for first place in the Atlantic Division for the first time since Jan. 30.

Miller, meanwhile, sat out the entire fourth quarter after mouthing an obscenity at the crowd as they razzed him during an intense stretch of the third quarter when the game got physical.

Miller finished with 16 points to lead the Pacers, who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Indiana had its lowest-scoring game of the season and matched its most lopsided margin of defeat.

For the Knicks, it was as dominant a victory as they've had this season against a quality opponent. Latrell Sprewell added 17 points, Patrick Ewing had 16 and Larry Johnson and John Wallace added 12 apiece.

It was New York's first game since losing point guard Charlie Ward for 3-4 weeks with a broken finger. Coach Jeff Van Gundy started a big backcourt of Houston and Sprewell for the first time since Dec. 25 - the day the Knicks lost at Indiana - and kept Chris Childs in a backup role.

Childs played well, tying his season-high with nine assists and contributing to Miller's outburst by matching him with theatrical flop for flop.

It was during Childs' and Miller's third-quarter flopfest that the crowd started getting on Miller, one of their least favorite villains through the years. A pair of quick fouls on Miller while battling for position with Childs - along with a rare missed free throw by Miller - spurred the crowd to start an obscene chant directed at Miller.

Miller then turned to the crowd and mouthed an obscenity.

The Knicks took the lead for good on a 19-footer by Houston with 3:05 left in the first quarter, and their advantage quickly grew to double digits as a driving layup by Wallace 3 1/2 minutes into the second quarter made it 33-22.

Jalen Rose scored six straight points to cut Indiana's deficit to three, 42-39, but the advantage was back to seven by halftime and the Pacers only fell further behind the rest of the way.

Rose scored 12, snapping his streak of seven straight games scoring at least 20.

Houston hit three straight jumpers midway through the third to make it 57-43, and Wallace's basket late in the third put New York ahead by 18. That was when Miller started going at it with the crowd, and this time - unlike so many Pacers-Knicks games in the past - he had no fourth-quarter heroics up his sleeve. Notes: Pacers center Rik Smits sat out his second straight game with a sore back. ... Dale Davis grabbed nine rebounds in the first quarter and 16 overall but shot 0-for-9 from the field and did not score. ... As expected, the Knicks placed Ward on the injured list. The Knicks are expected to sign ex-Pacer Etdrick Bohannon to a 10-day contract. The 6-foot-9 forward has been averaging 12.6 points and 10.7 rebounds for Fort Wayne of the CBA. ... Indiana forward Chris Mullin, a collegiate star in New York at St. John's, chatted before the game with ex-Redmen coaches Lou Carnesecca and Brian Mahoney. ... The starting time for the Knicks' game next Sunday against Philadelphia has been moved from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST.

-- Sista In 'Da Hood (Sista@'Da.Bomb), February 20, 2000

Answers

So?

-- (Bro@da.hood), February 20, 2000.

Ahhh...sports.. the mind-distracting opiate of the masses...another tool to keep you enslaved.

-- Eagle Feather (links2u@hotmail.com), February 20, 2000.