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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
NEW YORK (AP) -- Thanks in large part to Latrell Sprewell's
defense, the Grant Hill points parade came to a halt.
Sprewell shut down Hill and scored 23 points, and Marcus Camby
added 22 points and 15 rebounds Monday to lead the New York Knicks past Detroit 105-94, snapping the Pistons' three-game winning
streak.
|  | | Marcus Camby came up big for the Knicks, with 22 points and 15 rebounds against the Pistons. |
"I'll give (Sprewell) some credit, he played well. But those
are shots I normally make," said Hill, who came into the game
averaging 36.1 points in his previous seven games on 61 percent
shooting.
Sprewell was the primary defender on Hill, who shot just
5-for-21 and scored 16 points -- more than 12 below his average.
Jerry Stackhouse also had a sub-par game, shooting 5-for-14.
"I tried to keep the ball out of his hands as much as
possible," Sprewell said. "I probably wasn't as good as far as
team defense because I was focused on him. I really tried to limit
the number of touches he got because he's so good when he gets the
ball, you're at his mercy.
"I figured I'd make him work at both ends, make him have to
chase me around and play some defense."
With Camby dominating the final 12 minutes, the Knicks had a
strong fourth quarter and avoided the type of last-minute letdown
that has plagued the team all season.
New York did let a 13-point fourth-quarter lead dwindle to six,
prompting Pistons coach Alvin Gentry to yell "We saw the Chicago
game" -- a reference to the Knicks blowing all but two points of a
27-point lead. But the Knicks then closed the game by scoring 15 of
the final 25 points.
"I though Camby was the player of the game," Gentry said.
"Every time they needed a big hoop he came up with an offensive
rebound or something good. He gave them the energy they needed off
the bench to get over the hump."
Patrick Ewing added 14 points and 10 rebounds, Larry Johnson
scored 14 and Allan Houston had 13.
Camby, who had eight points and seven rebounds in the fourth
quarter, led New York to a 48-38 advantage on the boards, including
38-19 over the final three quarters.
Christian Laettner scored 23 and Stackhouse 19 for the Pistons,
who also had a four-game road winning streak snapped as they lost
for just the second time in 11 games.
The Knicks started to pull away late in the second quarter,
closing the first half with a 10-2 run for a 51-43 halftime lead.
The advantage grew to 13 early in the third quarter on a 19-footer
by Sprewell with 9:01 left that made it 61-48, and to 16 on an
11-footer by Ewing with 1:53 left that made it 77-61.
The Pistons were within six, 90-84 with 5:17 left, when Gentry
reminded the crowd that no Knicks lead is safe. This time, though,
the lead held up as Sprewell hit a jumper and Camby tipped in a
miss to make it 94-84 with 4:06 left. The Knicks stayed ahead by at
least eight points the rest of the way.
"We had them down big, and we were able to withstand their run and make a run of our own," Camby said. "We had balanced scoring and balanced team play."
Game notes
The Knicks had 24 assists to Detroit's 22, making them 19-2
when having more assists than their opponent. ... Ewing missed his
first free throw, snapping a string of 14 straight. ... Detroit,
the second-highest scoring team in the NBA, failed to reach 100
points for the 11th time this season. ... Sprewell reached 20
points for the 13th time this season. Houston leads the Knicks with
21 20-plus performances.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
New York Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 105
Washington 101
Milwaukee 107
Atlanta 101
Philadelphia 101
New Jersey 96
Seattle 82
LA Lakers 81
Golden State 113
Orlando 100
New York 105
Detroit 94
Charlotte 115
Toronto 94
Minnesota 101
Indiana 100
Houston 121
Dallas 111
San Antonio 99
LA Clippers 93
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