NBA ROUNDUP : Ewing Scores 39 to Lift Knicks, 111-107

The New York Knicks, with Patrick Ewing leading the way, are never stylish, just effective.

Ewing scored 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday night, leading the Knicks to a 111-107 victory over the Charlotte Hornets at Charlotte, N.C.

Ewing wasn’t guarded often by Charlotte center Alonzo Mourning in the fourth quarter because Mourning had four fouls. So Ewing was often matched against 6-foot-8 Kenny Gattison or 6-9 Sidney Green.

It was no contest.

When Ewing wasn’t posting up inside, the Knicks went to 6-10 Charles Smith, who responded with 23 points.

In the decisive fourth quarter, the Knicks made 13 of 18 shots and outscored the Hornets, 32-22. Charlotte made only eight of 24 shots during the quarter.

Chicago 119, Miami 92--Michael Jordan scored 15 of his 34 points during the third quarter at Chicago, leading the Bulls to their 12th victory in 14 games.

The Bulls outscored the Heat, 37-23, to build a 91-63 lead entering the final quarter, which was played mostly by reserves.

With Chicago ahead, 58-43, and 9:41 to play in the third quarter, Miami’s Grant Long was hit with two technical fouls and Brian Shaw with another after Long had been called for an offensive foul. Jordan, who did not play in the fourth quarter, made all three free throws, giving Chicago a 61-43 lead.

Horace Grant added 20 points for the Bulls and Will Perdue had 14. For Miami, rookie Harold Miner scored 19 points and Steve Smith had 18.

Indiana 109, New Jersey 90--Reggie Miller scored 20 points, including the 700th three-point basket of his career, as the Pacers won at Indianapolis.

Indiana outrebounded the NBA’s top rebounding team, 63-44, led by Rik Smits, who had 11 rebounds, and Dale Davis, who had 10 plus 16 points.

Derrick Coleman led the Nets with 23 points. Drazen Petrovic returned to the lineup after missing 10 games with a sprained ligament in his left knee, but scored only six points on three-of-12 shooting.

Miller scored 11 points in the first quarter, making all three of his three-point shots.

Detroit 87, Atlanta 84--Terry Mills scored 10 of his 24 points during the fourth quarter to lead the Pistons to the victory at Auburn Hills, Mich.

The Pistons played without leading scorer Joe Dumars, who was sidelined because of a knee injury, but won for the seventh time in eight games.

Dominique Wilkins, who scored 29 points, made a three-point shot to pull the Hawks to within one point, and Atlanta regained possession when Isiah Thomas traveled with 48 seconds to play.

But after Thomas knocked a pass away from Duane Farrell, Bill Laimbeer made two free throws and Wilkins’ three-point attempt missed at the buzzer.

Thomas scored 19 points and Laimbeer had 14 for Detroit.

Houston 107, Denver 96--Vernon Maxwell matched a season high with 30 points, and Hakeem Olajuwon had 29 points and 13 rebounds, lifting the Rockets to their seventh consecutive victory.

The game at Denver had 12 lead changes and 20 ties, the last at 57-57 with 9:05 left in the third quarter. Then Kenny Smith hit two three-point shots to start a 14-2 run, and Olajuwon had five points during the spurt that gave the Rockets a 71-59 lead with 3:16 remaining in the quarter.

After that, the closest the Nuggets got was 77-70 early in the fourth quarter. Houston then built the margin to 89-73 and wasn’t threatened again.

Phoenix 98, Minnesota 84--Dan Majerle scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter at Phoenix, helping the Suns hold the Timberwolves at bay for their record 60th victory of the season.

Cedric Ceballos had 23 points and 13 rebounds, offsetting the absence of injured forward Charles Barkley, who was sidelined for the second game in a row.

Richard Dumas, who has been alternating with Ceballos at small forward, joined Ceballos as a starter for the first time and scored 22 points.

Doug West paced Minnesota with 27 points, and Christian Laettner scored 20.

It was the seventh loss in a row for the Timberwolves and left the four-year-old franchise 0-16 against the Suns. Phoenix and Chicago are the only teams that have never lost to Minnesota.

San Antonio 96, Golden State 93--David Robinson had 33 points and 17 rebounds for the Spurs, and he followed a missed shot by Antoine Carr with a dunk with 7.7 seconds remaining, securing the victory at Sacramento.

The Spurs, 1-3 against the Warriors this season, avoided being swept by a Western Conference team in a season series for the first time in the four years of the Robinson era. They won for only the second time in seven games against the Warriors.

Latrell Sprewell led the Warriors with 20 points. Victor Alexander had 17 points and 13 rebounds for Golden State.