Indianapolis — The defense kept New York close and Latrell Sprewell did the rest.
Sprewell scored nine of his 26 points in the final period as the Knicks beat Indiana, 79-75, Wednesday night.
"We helped on defense and moved the ball to get good shots," he said. "We really clamped down in those final minutes. We knew if they kept scoring we'd be in trouble."
The Knicks held Indiana without a point for the final 4:11, and Sprewell hit the go-ahead basket with 14 seconds to go.
"The fans here are tough on you," Sprewell said. "They were (tough) on me. When I made that basket it was my time to get back at them."
The victory snapped a seven-game road losing streak for the Knicks and stretched Indiana's losing streak to four games.
The Pacers led 75-69 after Al Harrington's two free throws with 4:11 to go. But Sprewell and Glen Rice then hit back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game and the Pacers didn't score again.
"We really were tough defensively down the stretch," Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "It's obvious we've been struggling on the road. I liked our passion tonight. We were tough."
After the Knicks tied the game, Indiana had two chances to go back in front, but Jermaine O'Neal missed two free throws with 1:14 to go and Jalen Rose lost the ball out of bounds with 32 seconds left.
Sprewell then hit from 14 feet to give the Knicks their first lead since midway through the second quarter. Travis Best, who started in place of the suspended Reggie Miller, missed a 20-footer and Rice rebounded with three seconds to go.
Rice, who finished with 16 points, was fouled by Rose and hit two free throws for the final points of the game.
"We weren't getting to our spots and doing the right things," said Best, who had nine points but missed his final nine shots. "You have to give some credit to their defense, too. They played aggressive, they were getting in front of guys when we were trying to post the ball up.
Bucks 101, Celtics 94
Boston Sam Cassell scored 24 points and Tim Thomas came off the bench to add 22 points and 10 rebounds, leading Milwaukee over Boston. Antoine Walker had 36 points and 11 rebounds and Paul Pierce had 30 and 10, but Boston's three other starters were held scoreless as the Celtics, who had a chance to move into a tie for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot, lost for the seventh time in nine games.
76ers 102, Nets 94
Philadelphia Allen Iverson had 38 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, as Philadelphia rallied past New Jersey. The Sixers scored the first basket of the game and then trailed until the fourth, when they outscored the Nets 27-15. Iverson was 13-for-14 from the foul line, making all six of his attempts in the fourth quarter.
Mavericks 93, Heat 86
Miami Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points and Michael Finley hit a pair of three-pointers in the fourth quarter as Dallas defeated Miami. The Mavs won for the fourth time in five games and handed the Heat only their third loss in their last 17 home games. Nowitzki shot 10-of-16 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point range as the Mavericks shot 54.5 percent. Steve Nash added 19 points.
Jazz 86, Sonics 82
Salt Lake City Karl Malone scored 26 points and Utah blitzed Seattle with a dominant second quarter before holding off a late rally. John Starks hit four free throws in the final 17.6 seconds after the Sonics trimmed a nine-point deficit to 82-79 on Gary Payton's driving layup and 84-82 on a three-pointer by Vin Baker with 10.6 seconds to play.
Wizards 88, Cavaliers 83
Cleveland Mitch Richmond scored 17 points and Washington rallied in the final four minutes to snap a seven-game losing streak. The Cavs have dropped 18 of 20 and 31 of 38 to put coach Randy Wittman's job in serious jeopardy. Cleveland followed up a loss Tuesday in Chicago to the lowly Bulls the NBA's worst team with another dud against the league's second-worst squad.
Lakers 97, Raptors 85
Los Angeles Kobe Bryant scored 17 of his 29 points in the third quarter and Los Angeles rallied to beat Toronto for its eighth consecutive home win. The Lakers' fourth straight victory also moved them within a half-game of idle Portland for the Pacific Division lead. Shaquille O'Neal added 25 points and 10 rebounds despite sitting the entire fourth quarter when Bryant worked mostly with a cast of reserves.
Rockets 104, Hawks 98
Atlanta Steve Francis made a three-point basket with 25.3 seconds left and Houston came back from two 23-point deficits to beat Atlanta and send the Hawks to their season-high ninth straight loss. Francis, who scored 17 of his 31 points in the final period, hit his three-pointer to put the Rockets up 100-98.
Magic 112, Pistons 102
Orlando, Fla. Tracy McGrady had 37 points and 11 rebounds and Orlando defeated Detroit for its fifth victory in six games. McGrady connected on 12 of 28 field goals and was 12-for-16 from the free-throw line. He also had five assists, three steals and three blocked shots. McGrady has scored 30 or more points 20 times this season.
Kings 100, Suns 89
Phoenix Chris Webber scored 24 of his 41 points in the second half Wednesday night as Sacramento came back from a 28-point deficit. The 28-point rally was the biggest in the NBA this season, surpassing Sacramento's comeback from a 24-point deficit to beat Miami 101-97 on Dec. 10.
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