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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
NEW YORK (AP) – Jason Williams gave no explanation for what
happened on the final play of the game, which was fitting in a way
because his miss was so inexplicable.
|  | | Allan Houston scored 21 points to lead the Knicks on Sunday. |
Williams blew a wide-open layup just before time expired Sunday,
capping a futile fourth quarter on offense for the Sacramento Kings
as they lost 88-86 to the New York Knicks.
"It was a layup. It was a good shot," Kings coach Rick Adelman
said. "Jason made a drive, he was right there, it just rolled
out."
Latrell Sprewell scored four of his 18 points in the final 41
seconds, and Knicks held the Kings to just two field goals during
the final nine minutes.
Allan Houston scored 21, Marcus Camby grabbed 17 rebounds and
Kurt Thomas and Glen Rice came off the bench to add 10 apiece for
the Knicks, who won for just the third time in their past eight
games.
Mark Jackson had six points and one assist in 27 minutes as he
took over New York's starting point guard job from Charlie Ward.
Predrag Stojakovic led Sacramento with 26 points, only two of which
came in the final 12 minutes as the Kings looked lost at the end
without Chris Webber, who missed his seventh straight game because
of a sprained ankle.
Doug Christie's bank shot with 9:11 left was Sacramento's last
basket until Vlade Divac scored with 3:22 left.
The Kings led for the first 3½ quarters behind the shooting of
Stojakovic and the low-post play of Divac, but the Knicks used a
10-0 run midway through the fourth to take an 84-81 lead. Ward
ended the run by sneaking behind Divac for a steal that led to a
fast-break dunk by Houston.
Divac tied it with a three-point play as Knicks coach Jeff Van
Gundy removed Ward in favor of Jackson with 3:22 left. Jackson took
the Knicks' next shot, a 3-pointer that missed.
Pollard scored off a pass from Stojakovic to make it 86-84 with
2:10 left, and neither team scored again until Sprewell rebounded
his own miss and sank a corner jumper to tie it with 40.1 seconds
left.
Ward returned moments later and got the ball to Sprewell, who
sank the winner from 20 feet with 7.2 seconds left while being
guarded by Stojakovic.
"We were going at Stojakovic," Sprewell said. "That shot is
not the reason we won the game. The defense is the reason."
Not on the final play, though.
The Kings inbounded to Williams, who blew past Ward near the
foul line and went to the hoop unencumbered. His floating layup
bounced around the rim and rolled out as Camby gave it a little
help -- swatting it away just after it touched the rim for the final
time.
"You can't get a better shot than that. Some of the players
thought they knocked it before it got off the rim. If that's the
case, I don't think they're going to make us replay it tomorrow,"
Adelman said.
"No, I didn't think it was goaltending," Camby said.
As for Williams, he ducked out the back door of the locker room
without speaking to reporters.
Game notes
The Knicks' next game is Tuesday night against Seattle in
Patrick Ewing's return to Madison Square Garden. Coach Jeff Van
Gundy said he wasn't sure if Ewing would get a standing ovation,
"which is unfortunate." ... The Knicks placed Muggsy Bogues on
the injured list and activated guard Rick Brunson. ... The Knicks
drew their NBA-leading 375th consecutive sellout crowd. ...
Williams finished with just two points on 1-for-5 shooting.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Sacramento Clubhouse
New York Clubhouse
RECAPS
New York 88
Sacramento 86
Indiana 110
Minnesota 100
Phoenix 90
Utah 80
LA Lakers 106
Orlando 100
Milwaukee 122
Golden State 95
Cleveland 101
Detroit 94
New Jersey 101
Washington 91
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