Knicks Hold Off Hill, Pistons

The New York Knicks let Grant Hill get his points, but didn't allow any of the other Detroit Pistons to hurt them.

Hill scored 31 points Monday in his only trip of the season to Madison Square Garden, but no one else reached double figures for Detroit as the Pistons dropped a 78-69 decision to the Knicks.

"You'd think we'd come into the Garden with some energy. We had three days off, but we just didn't come out and hustle like we're capable of," Hill said. "They were diving on the floor and we were bending at the waist."

Allan Houston scored 19 points, Patrick Ewing had 14, Larry Johnson 12 and Charlie Ward 10 for the Knicks, who threw some interesting defensive looks at Hill as they won their third straight.

The Knicks used big men to double-team Hill near midcourt whenever they could, forcing him to give up the ball early on several possessions.

"Basically, we tried to get the ball out of his hands," Ewing said. Yet Jerry Stackhouse (1-for-11), Bison Dele (4-for-12), Lindsay Hunter (1-for-6), Jerome Williams (0-for-5) and (0-for-4) failed to capitalize as Detroit went 0-for-7 from 3-point range and shot only 36 percent overall.

The Knicks had their own problems offensively, going more than 12 minutes between baskets in an ugly stretch bridging the third and fourth quarters. But after Detroit pulled within two points with 3:11 left, New York pulled away as Ewing, Houston and Chris Childs hit clutch jumpers.

"When they had to make big shots, they did," Pistons coach Alvin Gentry said. "We need a better effort over 48 minutes. We only had a quarter-and-a-half of good energy level."

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Patrick Ewing scored 14 as Knicks won third straight. (AP)

Childs finished with 7 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals, who improved to 3-0 without Latrell Sprewell after starting 0-2 with him.

The Knicks missed 13 consecutive shots and committed five turnovers while going through their 12-minute stretch of ineptitude. Houston finally ended the drought with a jumper that gave New York a 62-55 lead with 5:27 left.

Hill answered with a pair of jumpers, pulling Detroit within three, before Ward hit a 3-pointer. The Pistons eventually pulled within two on a layup by Dele with 3:11 left, but Ewing and Houston answered with jumpers to restore a six-point lead entering the final two minutes, and Childs made it an eight-point lead on a corner jumper with 1:41 remaining.

"For the most part, our defense is doing a fabulous job," Ewing said. "If we continue to play the kind of defense we're capable of playing, and when our offense catches up, we will be unstoppable."

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