Magic Spoil Knicks Opener

Orlando wasn't about to let Latrell Sprewell steal the opening night magic.

Nick Anderson scored 19 points and Orlando off a late rally led by Sprewell to ruin the controversial guard's debut with the New York Knicks, 93-85 Friday night.

The Magic outscored New York 25-4 during a nine-minute stretch of the second half to break the game open, despite not getting a big offensive night from All-Star guard Penny Hardaway.

"We turned the ball over too many times and they scored at will," Knicks center Patrick Ewing said of the hole New York dug itself in the third quarter. "They just outplayed us."

The Magic put together a 16-1 run with Hardaway on the bench in the third quarter and didn't let up when he returned at the start of the fourth with Orlando leading 73-58.

By the time the Knicks got back on track, it was too late to pull the game out.

"Obviously every time you win a game it's a good thing, particularly the opener," Magic coach Chuck Daly said. "It's a good start, but we have a lot of things to work out. We were not pretty, but we were effective."

Sprewell, playing in his first game since being suspended for the final 68 games of last season for choking Golden State coach P.J. Carlesimo, scored 24 points in 35 minutes.

The 28-year-old guard, who lost more than $6 million in salary during the suspension, made 8 of 16 shots and led a fourth-quarter rally that trimmed a 21-point New York deficit to 87-82 in the final minute.

"I think I'm still rusty," said Sprewell, who hadn't played in a regular-season game since the Dec. 1, 1997 attack on Carlesimo during a Warriors practice.

"It felt good to be back on the floor and being a part of the game again ... getting booed and all that. I'm glad to be out there, no doubt."

Sprewell was booed heavily during pregame introductions, and one fan held up a sign with the word "Choke" printd on it when he went to the free-throw line for the first time.

The intensity of the jeering dissipated as the game wore on. Sprewell's first field goal, a layup at the first-quarter buzzer, was met by silence - the crowd seemingly stunned that he picked up a loose ball under the Magic basket with four seconds left and dribbled the length of the floor to score.

He had 11 points in the fourth quarter.

"We were really down," Sprewell said. "We could have just folded the tent and went home, but we didn't. We came out and tried to make a game of it. I think if we have that kind of effort for 48 minutes, we win that game."

Hardaway took the public address microphone before the game and thanked fans for their support, drawing an ovation followed by fireworks and the introduction of each Orlando player.

Although attendance was announced as a sellout of 17,248, there were empty seats scattered throughout Orlando Arena -- as has been customary during the three years since Shaquille O'Neal left the Magic for the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Penny Hardaway and the Magic soared past the Knicks. (AP)

Predictably, play was ragged.

The Knicks trailed 46-44 at the half after committing 11 turnovers that Orlando turned into 14 points. Allan Houston missed eight of 10 shots for New York, while Hardaway was shut out for the first 10 minutes of the game and didn't score again until just over four minutes remained in the half.

"It's hard to learn how to play NBA basketball after eight months off," Daly said. "The only way is to play (other teams). All in all, it's a very good win for us."

Hardaway's backup, Darrell Armstrong, led the third-quarter surge that put in Orlando in control. He had six points during the 16-1 run and the Magic outscored the Knicks 20-5 after Armstrong entered the game with the score tied 53-53.

Armstrong scored 15 points and Hardaway finished with 12. Ewing had 17 points for the Knicks.

Notes

• The Magic signed nine-time All-Star Dominique Wilkins earlier in the day. To make room on the roster, rookie Jonathan Kerner was placed on injured reserve. Wilkins, No. 8 on the NBA's career scoring list, did not play.
• Orlando is wearing new uniforms this season to celebrate the team's 10th anniversary.
• Hardaway missed 10 of 14 shots.

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