With Kobe Bryant in the locker room, the New York Knicks took Shaquille O'Neal's game away from the Los Angeles Lakers.
"We've got to make them beat us from the outside," New York's Allan Houston said. "We can't let Shaq beat us from the inside, even if we pack five people around him."
With New York leading by one point, the Lakers had a chance to win when O'Neal grabbed Glen Rice's missed shot with 5.6 seconds remaining. But the Knicks collapsed around O'Neal, forcing Derek Fisher to take a 15-foot jumper just before time expired.
Fisher missed, and the Knicks had a 79-78 victory Sunday, giving New York its first two-game sweep of the defending NBA champions in six years.
"I told Phil during a timeout, 'Make sure I get it,' " O'Neal said, referring to Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "But they weren't going to let me get it. Coach Jackson drew up a pretty nice play, but they put their defense one guy behind me, one guy in front of me, which forced Fish to shoot a tough shot."
New York's Marcus Camby scored seven of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and also had 15 rebounds. He also was a key to defending O'Neal at the end.
"We just packed it in and tried to make somebody else make a play," Camby said.
Latrell Sprewell had 19 points for New York as the Knicks snapped a three-game losing streak. They lost their previous two games, at Vancouver and Portland, by a total of 38 points.
"The difference is when we defend and rebound, we're going to have a chance to win," Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "When we don't, we won't."
O'Neal led the Lakers with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Rick Fox added 11 points, and Horace Grant had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Bryant, the NBA's third-leading scorer with a 29.2-point average, started and played nearly 11 1/2 minutes before leaving with the Lakers leading 21-14. He was scoreless when he went to the locker room for treatment.
"I knew I wouldn't come back," Bryant said.
NETS 101, ROCKETS 98: Lucious Harris gave host New Jersey the lead with an off-balance tip-in with 1:11 left, hurting Houston's playoff chances.
Steve Francis, who scored 28 points, had a chance to force an overtime, but his 3-point attempt hit off the back of the rim at the buzzer.
Keith Van Horn had 19 points to lead the Nets.
The Rockets are 3 1/2 games behind Minnesota in the race for the final playoff berth in the Western Conference.
PISTONS 104, WARRIORS 87: Jerry Stackhouse scored 32 points and Ben Wallace added 16 rebounds as Detroit beat visiting Golden State.
Adonal Foyle had 20 points for Golden State, while Antwan Jamison and Vonteego Cummings had 18 each.
Detroit led by as many as 29 before a fourth-quarter rally by the Warriors made it 102-85 and forced Pistons coach George Irvine to put his starters back in the game.
MAVERICKS 119, KINGS 107: Juwan Howard had 32 points and 12 rebounds, and Dirk Nowitzki added 25 points and 11 rebounds as Dallas got its first victory in Sacramento in more than four years.
Michael Finley had 23 points as Dallas won at Arco Arena for the first time since March 16, 1997, a span of seven games.
ChrisWebber scored 27 points and PejaStojakovic had 24 for the Kings.
SUNS 106, BUCKS 99: Jason Kidd had 30 points and 12 assists as host Phoenix won to maintain its 2 1/2-game edge on Minnesota for the seventh playoff seed in the Western Conference.
The Suns' victory over Milwaukee was their seventh straight, the longest current streak in the NBA and matching their season-best.
Ray Allen had 31 points for Milwaukee.
MAGIC 104, RAPTORS 101: Returning to Toronto for the first time since being traded, Tracy McGrady scored 24 points to lead Orlando.
McGrady, who left the Raptors as a free agent, was loudly booed throughout the game. Fans brought derogatory signs and chanted even when he didn't have the ball.
Darrell Armstrong added 22 points and Pat Garrity 20 for the Magic, who tied Toronto for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Vince Carter had 28 points and 11 assists for the Raptors, whose four-game winning streak ended.
76ERS 104, PACERS 93: Allen Iverson scored 37 points as host Philadelphia won for only the third time in nine games. The loss kept Indiana tied with Boston in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Tyrone Hill had 15 points and 13 rebounds, his 16th double-double of the season for Philadelphia.
Jalen Rose, playing with five fouls for much of the fourth quarter, finished with 26 points — 14 in the final period, while reserve Austin Croshere had 21 points for Indiana.
HORNETS 80, CELTICS 79: Elden Campbell hit a hook shot with nine seconds left and Baron Davis blocked Boston's final shot to preserve host Charlotte's victory. The Hornets snapped a four-game losing streak and beat Boston for the sixth consecutive time.
David Wesley led Charlotte with 21 points.
Antoine Walker scored 25 for the Celtics, but missed a critical free throw with 19 seconds to play.
TIMBERWOLVES 99, TRAIL BLAZERS 95: Terrell Brandon, who finished with 30 points and 11 assists, hit two free throws with 5.9 seconds left to seal Minnesota's victory at Portland.
Kevin Garnett added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who had lost six straight road games.