NBA PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP : Pistons Come Through in Knick of Time

The Detroit Pistons suffered through a humiliating defeat in the opener of their first-round playoff series with the New York Knicks.

They may, however, have the last laugh in this best-of-five battle.

Isiah Thomas sank a running one-hander from near the free-throw line with less than eight seconds remaining Sunday at New York to give the Pistons an 89-88 victory.

The Pistons tied the series at one win apiece and have the next two games at home.

The one-point win might have been bigger than the 34-point loss.

When these teams get together, it is seldom a case of a hot-shooting team winning. It’s almost always the case of a cold team losing.

In this game, it was Patrick Ewing and the Knicks who developed the cold spell after building a 55-43 lead early in the second half.

In the first half, Ewing missed his first nine shots and made only four of 18, but the Knicks led, 41-40. While the Pistons missed their first five shots in the second half, the Knicks built their lead.

The Pistons came back behind Joe Dumars, who was scoreless until four minutes into the second half. Dumars found his range and scored 21 points in the last 17 minutes.

From the time Dumars tied it, at 82-82, with three minutes to play, it was a hectic, tense finish.

“At halftime, I asked myself, ‘What are you doing out there?’ ” Dumars said. “Fancy words aren’t enough to turn it around. You have to go out there and do your job.”

After Thomas’ clutch basket, which gave him 15 points, the Knicks had two chances to score the winning basket.

They took a timeout and had the ball at midcourt. Gerald Wilkins, not the man they usually go to in clutch situations, drove to the basket, but missed a short jumper.

Xavier McDaniel, who scored 24 points, grabbed the rebound. He missed a short jumper and the series was tied.

“The play was designed for Mark Jackson to get the ball off a screen,” Wilkins said. “I looked, there was no one there, so I went for the basket.”

Chicago 120, Miami 90--With this game no longer in doubt after Scottie Pippen led a 12-0 run in the early moments at Chicago, the Bulls used the occasion to send a message.

It was directed to the Portland Trail Blazers and let them know the Bulls, too, can roll up a score on a weak opponent.

Although he played only 35 minutes, Michael Jordan again dominated the inexperienced Heat. He scored 33 points and had 13 rebounds and six assists.

But it was Pippen who took charge to assure the Bulls a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series which could end Wednesday night at Miami.

The third tie in the first four minutes was at 8-8. Pippen then started the 12-0 run with two quick baskets.

Pippen scored 20 points in the first 15 minutes to help build a 43-23 lead.

Phoenix 119, San Antonio 107--Before the playoffs started, the Spurs talked about how things would be just fine when injured David Robinson joined them for the second round of postseason play.

Maybe they didn’t realize that without the all-star center, there might not be a second round for the Spurs.

Jeff Hornacek and Tim Perry both scored 31 points at Phoenix to lead the Suns to their second win in the best-of-five series. The Suns could end the season for the Spurs with a victory Wednesday night at San Antonio.

Terry Cummings scored 31 points for the Spurs, 21 in the second half.

The Spurs pulled to within 107-100 with 3:13 left, but Perry made two jumpers in a 6-0 run that clinched the victory.