Knicks 105-Pistons 94 01.17.00

Player of the Game:CAMBY-22Pts,15Rebs,2Bs Best Scorer:Latrell Sprewell-23 Best Rebounder:Marcus Camby-15 Best Passer:Allan Houston-6

NEW YORK-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. "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."