NEW YORK - Herb Williams made the most of his one game as Knicks coach, guiding New York to a 120-110 victory Wednesday night over the Magic, hours after Don Chaney was fired.
Team president Isiah Thomas fired Chaney and his two top assistants and hired Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens as coach.
Williams, a holdover from Chaney's staff, ran the team for one game with Wilkens set to take over today. Thomas also said he would keep exploring changes, including a possible trade for Portland's Rasheed Wallace.
"I know he's a winner. I know he's won. Everyone I know who's had contact with him said he's the ultimate players' coach," New York's Stephon Marbury said of Wilkens, who holds the record for career wins and losses (1,292-1,114). Chaney was 72-112 in two-plus seasons in New York.
Marbury had 26 points and 10 assists for the Knicks. Tracy McGrady was 0-for-6 from the field in the first quarter, but finished with 28 points to lead the Magic, which lost its seventh straight on the road.
NETS 115, WIZARDS 103: Rodney Rogers, filling in for suspended Kenyon Martin, had 18 points and a season-high 13 rebounds to lead host New Jersey. Richard Jefferson scored 30, including a 41-foot floater at the end of the third, as the Nets set a season high for points in beating former assistant Eddie Jordan and his Wizards for the third time this season.
ROCKETS 95, CELTICS 80: Cuttino Mobley scored 24, and Yao Ming added 21 points and 15 rebounds to lead visiting Houston. The Rockets held Paul Pierce to a season-low four on 1-of-10 shooting. Mike James led the Celtics with 20 points. Ahead 47-42 at halftime, Houston opened a 16-point lead late in the third after a 14-4 run. Boston got as close as 82-68 with 5:21 left, then Mobley hit back-to-back 3s for a 88-70 lead.
PACERS 85, HAWKS 78: Reggie Miller scored 13, all in the fourth, to lead host Indiana. Miller, who scored his first basket with 6:06 remaining, hit consecutive 3s to give Indiana a 68-65 lead with 5:28 left. Another 3 two minutes later put Indiana ahead by one, then a six-point flurry from Jermaine O'Neal sealed it for the Pacers.
PISTONS 95, RAPTORS 91: Mehmet Okur scored a career-high 27 and host Detroit won its 10th straight. After the start was delayed 29 minutes because of a snowstorm, the Raptors led much of the way. Detroit rallied, with Okur's two free throws capping an 11-1 run, which put the Pistons ahead for the first time since the first quarter, 77-76 with 7:06 left. Richard Hamilton made two mid-range jumpers and a free throw in the final minute to seal it.
WOLVES 100, SPURS 93: Sam Cassell scored 33, including eight straight late in the fourth, for visiting Minnesota. Kevin Garnett added 21 points and 10 rebounds for his league-leading 32nd double double of the season. Tim Duncan had 36 points and 20 rebounds for the Spurs, but struggled from the free-throw line, shooting 8-of-15.
WILLIAMS TALKS: Jayson Williams regularly visits the grave of the limousine driver killed by his shotgun blast and is "terrified" of going to prison for what he called an accident, the former player said in an interview to be aired Friday.
"Me and my wife go every Sunday after church service. We go down every Sunday since the first week after Mr. (Costas) Christofi was buried. We go down there and we pay our respects," Williams told Barbara Walters on ABC's 20/20.
"I will never be able to move on as much as people would like me to. This is something that's, it's devastating to two families," Williams said in his first extensive public remarks since the shooting at his mansion in Alexandria Township, N.J., on Feb. 14, 2002.
The broadcast comes at the end of a week in which jury selection began in the manslaughter trial of Williams, 35, who retired in 2000 as center of the Nets. Williams faces seven charges, including aggravated manslaughter and witness tampering, that could mean 55 years in prison.
NETS SALE: Team owners told real estate developer Bruce Ratner they will sell him the team for $300-million, Bloomberg News reported. The sale makes it likely the Nets, who play at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., will move to Brooklyn, N.Y., where Ratner seeks to build a new arena. No contracts have been signed.
LAKERS: Kobe Bryant was placed on the injured list after spraining his surgically-repaired right shoulder Monday. He is expected to miss 2-3 weeks.
MAVERICKS: Despite growing speculation Don Nelson's role as coach and general manager could be in jeopardy because of the team's sluggish play, team owner Mark Cuban insisted he is not making changes. "He told me he's not firing me," Nelson said. Dallas was 21-16 entering Wednesday's game against Philadelphia.
