When the Detroit Pistons needed points, they put the ball in the hands of their superstar and let Grant Hill do his thing.
When the New York Knicks needed points, they found themselves watching Larry Johnson experiment with the new 3-point line.Hill was an unstoppable force in the fourth quarter and Johnson was a misfiring liability all game long as the Detroit Pistons spoiled New York's home opener Sunday night with a 94-86 victory.
"For the most part I want the ball in my hands, especially when things are going well," said Hill, who scored 15 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter. "It feels good to win here because I haven't done so since my freshman year in college. Not only did we never win here, we never even played well here."
Hill was 9-for-6 from the field and 15-for-18 from the foul line. He also had nine rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Lindsey Hunter was dominant in the final two minutes, scoring nine of his 23 points - including a three-point play after converting an nearly impossible runner with 1:18 left that sent Knicks fans streaming to the exits.
Hill and Hunter scored 24 of Detroit's 36 points in the final period.
Patrick Ewing and Johnson scored 16 points apiece for New York, which couldn't find anybody in the fourth quarter to adequately defend Hill or Hunter.
Johnson also hurt the Knicks with his reckless 3-point shooting. He went 0-for-7 from behind the arc as part of his team-leading 18 shot attempts.
Magic 107, Celtics 96
At Boston, Penny Hardaway scored 32 points, including six 3-pointers, and Orlando gave Chuck Daly his first win after a three-year break from coaching.
Derek Harper added 19 points and Nick Anderson 13 for the Magic. The Celtics were led by rookie Ron Mercer with 23 points and Antoine Walker with 19. Boston hit only 38 percent of its shots.
The Celtics used a nine-point run in which Mercer had six points to cut the lead to 58-49 with 7:20 left in the third quarter. But the Magic came right back with a 9-1 surge in which Hardaway hit a 3-pointer and a layup and went ahead 67-50.
It was 77-58 after three quarters, and the Magic made five 3-pointers in the final period, three by Hardaway. Orlando has made at least one 3-pointer in an NBA record 315 consecutive games.
Rockets 93, Kings 77
At Sacramento, Calif., Hakeem Olajuwon scored 18 points and Houston held Sacramento to just seven points in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 74-71 early in the fourth quarter, the Rockets used 3-pointers by Eddie Johnson and Brent Price to take the lead for good with an 8-0 run. Houston scored the game's final 12 points.
Kevin Willis had 16 points for Houston and Charles Barkley had 15 points and 14 rebounds. Mitch Richmond, held scoreless in the fourth quarter, finished with 21 points for Sacramento.