Ewing beats Knicks, Brown can't beat Heat

Patrick Ewing and P.J. Brown both played against their former teams. <br><br>Ewing had better luck than Brown. <br><br>In his first game against the Knicks since his 15-year career in New York ended, Ewing's

Wednesday, November 15th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Patrick Ewing and P.J. Brown both played against their former teams.

Ewing had better luck than Brown.

In his first game against the Knicks since his 15-year career in New York ended, Ewing's new team _ the Seattle SuperSonics _ rolled over the Knicks 96-75 despite Ewing being outplayed statistically by Marcus Camby.

``I'm real happy to get the game over,'' Ewing said. ``I was tired of all the media hype and all the questions. I'm very relieved. Now all the New York media can go home.''

Brown, now with the Charlotte Hornets, had a chance to beat his old team at the end of regulation. But Brown's 18-footer missed, and Miami went on to defeat Charlotte 89-86 in overtime.

Tim Hardaway hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 7.6 seconds remaining to give Miami the victory.

``You knew that was coming,'' said Brown, who along with Jamal Mashburn was playing his first game in Miami since the trade. ``They live and die by that shot, and they lived by it tonight. I'm sure we'll see that shot down the road again. That's his favorite shot.''

In other NBA games, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Denver 119-103, San Antonio beat Utah 86-79, Sacramento stopped Orlando 96-82, Cleveland tripped Golden State 96-86, Atlanta edged Portland 99-97 and Houston routed Chicago 110-83.

Ewing warmly greeted his former teammates with hugs and handshakes just before the opening tip, which he batted to Payton. He also smiled broadly at the Knicks sideline, where his former coach, Jeff Van Gundy, was sitting.

``I've been to war with those guys for a lot of years,'' Ewing said. ``I wished them well and they wished me well.''

Van Gundy huddled with Ewing in the hallway after the game.

Ewing missed his first four shots in the first half before connecting on a wide-open 15-foot jumper that gave the Sonics a 45-43 lead.

``I was just rushing things in the first half,'' said Ewing, who had five turnovers. ``In the second half, I just slowed things down a little bit.''

Gary Payton had 25 points and 13 assists to lead the SuperSonics.

The Sonics, off to a 3-6 start, got 10 points and nine rebounds from Ewing, 38, who played 31 minutes. Camby, Ewing's replacement at center for the Knicks, had 20 points and 17 rebounds.

``I was definitely emotional,'' Camby said. ``I gave Patrick a hug and told him how much we miss him and stuff. Doing well against him meant nothing. If we would have gotten a win, it might have meant something.''

Heat 89, Hornets 86, OT

Hardaway made two free throws with 12.4 seconds left in regulation, tying the game. Between free throws, Charlotte coach Paul Silas contemplated calling a timeout to try to ice Hardaway. He even signaled timeout at one point before changing his mind.

``He was trying to use psychology, trying to ice me. And that doesn't work on me. I'm from the 'hood,'' said Hardaway, who was 3-of-7 shooting from 3-point range.

After making the second free throw, Hardaway stared intently at Silas from midcourt for several seconds. Hardaway gave Silas another look after hitting the game-winner, this one coming with his arms raised in celebration. Hardaway was surrounded by his teammates _ including ailing center Alonzo Mourning _ at center court.

Lakers 119, Nuggets 103

At Los Angeles, Shaquille O'Neal made 16 of 21 shots and finished with 34 points and 19 rebounds as the defending NBA champions put together their best offensive effort of the young season.

Averaging 26.7 points and making 54 percent of his shots entering the game, O'Neal has been hampered by sore thumbs.

``They're so sore I can't even wipe my nose, they're killing me,'' O'Neal said. ``I was just playing through it. I've been here five years, I've played through every knick-knack injury known to man. I'm not going to go into the front office and say, `My thumbs hurt, I need a couple days off.' That's not me. I'm going to play until my thumbs fall off.''

Spurs 86, Jazz 79

Host San Antonio held Utah to 39 percent shooting, and David Robinson allowed just 15 points to Karl Malone, who entered the game as the NBA's third-leading scorer with a 28.2 average.

Tim Duncan had 15 points and 10 defensive rebounds _ 12 in all _ and added seven assists and three blocks for the Spurs.

Kings 96, Magic 82

Scot Pollard scored a career-high 22 points in Chris Webber's place as Sacramento won at home against Orlando.

Webber, the Kings' leading scorer and rebounder, sat out to rest a sprained ankle, and Pollard filled in remarkably, going 10-of-11 from the field and playing solid low-post defense.

Cavaliers 96, Warriors 86

Lamond Murray scored host Cleveland's first nine points of the fourth quarter and had 14 of his 24 in the first 5:18 of the period as the surprising Cavaliers (6-1) continued their fast start.

Hawks 99, Trail Blazers 97

Atlanta, got its first victory of the season after seven straight losses when Jason Terry hit a pull-up jumper with 2.6 seconds remaining.

``This is a very big monkey off our back,'' said Lorenzen Wright, who led the Hawks with 20 points.

Rockets 110, Bulls 83

At Houston, Steve Francis outscored Elton Brand 28-16 in a matchup of last season's co-Rookies of the Year.