Patrick Ewing and Rik Smits were the centers of attention. Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson weren't, for a change.
Ewing scored 38 points in the second half and finished with a season-high 46 Tuesday night in the New York Knicks' 115-110 victory over Boston.Smits was nearly as good. His 35 points against San Antonio were a season high and came while he was holding Robinson to 19 points and a career-low two rebounds. Without a big night by Robinson, the Spurs' eight-game winning streak came to an end as San Antonio fell to the Pacers, 117-100.
"Nobody stops David," said Smits, who also had 10 rebounds. "But tonight they were playing from behind. It's tough to catch up."
As their losing streak stretched to five, the Houston Rockets fell further behind in the Midwest Division with a 113-102 loss to Phoenix.
Olajuwon scored 40 points and got 13 rebounds, but he also committed four fouls in the fourth quarter, picking up his sixth with 4:05 to play.
Knicks 115, Celtics 110
Boston's Dominique Wilkins became the ninth player in NBA history to score 25,000 points, but the visiting Celtics had no answer for Ewing.
Ewing scored 16 straight points to keep his sputtering team in the game during the third quarter as New York won its ninth straight game against Boston. He also added six blocks and 12 rebounds.
Wilkins, who needed 16 points to reach the 25,000-point plateau, finished with 19, including his milestone 3-pointer with 3:19 to play in the fourth quarter.
Pacers 117, Spurs 100
Indiana built a 24-point first-half lead, then held off several San Antonio runs to break the Spurs' 11-game home winning streak.
Reggie Miller added 22 points and Byron Scott had 12 points for the Pacers, who broke a three-game losing streak.
Dennis Rodman scored a season-high 17 points and added 14 rebounds. It was the first time in the last eight games that the Spurs forward did not get more than 20 boards.
Suns 113, Rockets 102
Kevin Johnson scored 22 points and led a free-throw shooting spurt in the fourth quarter to help Phoenix win their fourth straight.
The Suns hit all 12 of their fourth-quarter free throws and Johnson had six, including one on a technical foul called against Olajuwon with 7:39 to play.
Charles Barkley scored 26 points, including the visiting Suns' final 10 points.
Cavaliers 89, Pistons 81
Tyrone Hill came back early from hand surgery and scored Cleveland's last 10 points as the Cavaliers beat Detroit.
The Cavs ended a season-worst four-game losing streak by limiting the Pistons to just two points in the last eight minutes.
Chris Mills scored 24 and Terrell Brandon had 20 for Cleveland. Terry Mills led the visiting Pistons with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Allan Houston added 20 points. Detroit's Joe Dumars scored five points, nearly 15 under his average, on 2-for-10 shooting.
Heat 110, Lakers 104
Miami never trailed after hitting its first three shots of the game for a 6-0 lead, beating an injury-depleted Los Angeles team.
Billy Owens had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Bimbo Coles had 23 points and nine assists.
Anthony Peeler led the Lakers with 23 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter. Vlade Divac had 23 points but just four in the second half.
Trail Blazers 106, Bucks 100
Terry Porter, playing in only his 10th game of the season after returning from ankle surgery, scored a season-high 36 points, helping Portland end a three-game losing streak.
Milwaukee, which lost its third straight, were led by Eric Murdock with 29 points and Vin Baker with 27 points and 12 rebounds.
Porter helped make up for the absence of forward Clifford Robinson and Rod Strickland, Portland's top two scorers who were both out with injuries. Harvey Grant and Aaron McKie both added 16 apiece for the visiting Blazers.
Nuggets 99, Mavericks 96
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf scored 29 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 36 seconds left, and Denver won its fourth straight by beating Dallas.
Dikembe Mutombo had 16 points and 16 rebounds for the visiting Nuggets.
Roy Tarpley scored a season-high 26 points with 12 rebounds and Jamal Mashburn also had 26 points for the Mavericks.