New York ? Latrell Sprewell arrived early, entered the game late and disappeared down the stretch along with the rest of his team.

Sprewell played his first game of the season but couldn’t reverse the New York Knicks’ slide as the Philadelphia 76ers scored 17 of the final 25 points for a 93-92 victory Saturday.

“C-plus,” Sprewell said when asked to assess his performance. “I could have been a lot better.”

The 76ers won on the road for the first time this season, while the loss was the fourth in a row for the Knicks. Allen Iverson and Tod MacCulloch each scored 17 points, Keith Van Horn had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Eric Snow added 14 points for the 76ers.

The habitually tardy Sprewell arrived at the arena six minutes before his team’s 11:30 a.m. deadline, then made his first appearance nine minutes into the game – the first time he came off the bench since the 1999 playoffs.

Sprewell played 31 minutes and had 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting but was held scoreless for the final 10 minutes.

Howard Eisley had 16 points and 10 assists for New York, whose 1-8 record is the worst in the Eastern Conference.

“We have a whole lot of basketball left,” Sprewell said.

Sprewell, who missed the first seven weeks of the preseason and regular season while recovering from a broken hand, scored seven of his points in a 16-4 run bridging the third and fourth quarters as New York turned a 63-58 deficit into a 74-67 lead. The rally injected some life into a crowd that had been waiting nearly all season for something to cheer.

Sprewell was poised to restore the Knicks’ seven-point lead after he poked the ball away from Snow and went in alone for a breakaway dunk. But a moment before he jammed the ball with two hands, Kurt Thomas body checked trailing defender Brian Skinner and was called for a foul, erasing the basket.

Wizards 95, Heat 65

New York's Latrell Sprewell drives to the hoop as Philadelphia's Aaron McKie defends. The 76ers defeated the Knicks, 93-92, Saturday in New York.

Washington – The Wizards used a torrid shooting first half to take control, and Jerry Stackhouse made the advantage stand up in a rout of Miami. The Wizards’ defense was just as effective – it was the fewest points ever allowed by Washington. The previous team mark was 69 points. The Wizards made 22 of 33 field-goal attempts before halftime to take a 59-32 lead, then got eight points from Stackhouse in the third quarter to build the margin to 30 points.

Hawks 89, Hornets 82

Atlanta – Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 27 points, and Glenn Robinson 24 as Atlanta beat New Orleans. Theo Ratliff grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds and blocked five shots for the Hawks.

Mavericks 96, Nets 88

East Rutherford, N.J. – The unbeaten streak has reached double figures for Dallas. Steve Nash scored 30 points, Michael Finley had 20 points and 13 rebounds, Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Shawn Bradley scored 12, including a pair of jumpers that started the Mavericks on a game-closing 13-5 run. With a record of 10-0, the Mavericks are the NBA’s only unbeaten team.

Bulls 111, Grizzlies 93

Chicago – Donyell Marshall scored 31 points and had 17 rebounds off the bench, and Jalen Rose also had 31 points as Chicago beat Memphis . Eddy Curry scored 10 of his 14 points in the first quarter, Jay Williams added 12 and Tyson Chandler 11 for the Bulls.

Pistons 74, Nuggets 53

Auburn Hills, Mich. – Cliff Robinson scored 17 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to help Detroit beat Denver after the teams combined for the lowest-scoring first half in NBA history. Denver led 29-28 at halftime, and the 57 combined points broke a 47-year-old record by one point. The Nuggets shot 37.5 percent for the half and turned the ball over eight times, while the Pistons hit 29 percent of their shots and had 11 turnovers.

Bucks 104, Celtics 85

Milwaukee – Ray Allen scored a season-high 31 points, including 18 in the first half, and Sam Cassell added 25 in Milwaukee’s victory over Boston. Tim Thomas added 13 points and Tony Kukoc 11 as the Bucks continued their mastery over the Celtics in Milwaukee, beating them for the seventh straight time at home. Antoine Walker scored 21 of his 28 points in the first half, and Paul Pierce also had 28 for Boston.

Warriors 135, Magic 92

Oakland, Calif. – Troy Murphy had a career-high 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Gilbert Arenas had 23 points asGolden State recorded their biggest victory in nearly nine years.

Pacers 107, Timberwolves 101

Minneapolis – Ron Mercer scored 22 points off the bench, and Jermaine O’Neal scored 12 of his 20 points in the second half as Indiana beat Minnesota for its seventh straight win. Off to their best start since the 1969-70 season in the ABA, the Pacers never trailed as they held off a fourth-quarter rally by the Wolves and hung on to their lead at the foul line.

Spurs 90, Cavaliers 77

Cleveland – Bruce Bowen scored 14 points, Tony Parker had 13 and San Antonio Spurs barely needed Tim Duncan in a win against Cleveland, which dropped its sixth straight. Duncan spent much of the night in foul trouble.