NBA ROUNDUP : Skiles Lifts Magic Past Knicks in Riley’s Debut

There was no magic for Pat Riley in his first game as a coach of the New York Knicks.

Some experts have picked the Knicks to win the Atlantic Division, but in their debut under former Laker coach Riley on Friday night, they were not too impressive at Orlando, Fla.

It was the Magic of Orlando that prevailed, 106-96. The Magic overcame a strong performance by Patrick Ewing to do it. Ewing had 30 points, eight rebounds and six blocked shots.

The Magic, with Scott Skiles running the offense, led almost the entire game. Skiles had 17 points and 12 assists.

Riley, who directed the Lakers to four NBA championships in the 1980s, was disappointed, but he praised the Magic.

“They were on fire,” he said. “We’re going to try to maintain an even temperament and move on to Miami tomorrow night.”

Nick Anderson led the Magic with 22 points. He scored the last six points of the third quarter to give Orlando a 12-point lead.

Chicago 110, Philadelphia 90--The Bulls received their championship rings in pregame ceremonies at Chicago, then picked up where they left off last spring.

With Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen leading the way, the Bulls opened a 31-point lead early in the second half and coasted to victory.

Jordan had 26 points, Pippen 23.

Charles Barkley had 12 points for the 76ers in the first quarter, but only six the rest of the game.

Boston 111, Charlotte 108--Rookie Larry Johnson scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter at Boston to lead a Hornet rally that fell short.

Larry Bird, who also had 10 points in the fourth quarter, made four clutch free throws in the closing minute that saved the injury-riddled Celtics.

It was an auspicious debut for Johnson, who signed a lucrative contract Wednesday.

The Celtics were without Kevin McHale and Dee Brown.

Portland 117, Cleveland 106--Clyde Drexler scored 31 points and the Trail Blazers, favored to win the West, opened with a victory at Portland.

The Trail Blazers won their first 11 games last season and 19 of their first 20.

Phoenix 99, Seattle 95--The Suns battled from behind in the closing minutes at Seattle to gain the victory.

Jeff Hornacek had 30 points and Dan Majerle came off the bench to score 26 and help the Suns wipe out a four-point deficit with seven minutes to play.

Milwaukee 109, Detroit 99--The Pistons, with veterans James Edwards and Vinnie Johnson gone, have a new look. But in their opener at Auburn Hills, Mich. they had the same old problem--lack of scoring.

While Piston newcomers Orlando Woolridge and Darrell Walker had two and four points, respectively, the Bucks’ newcomer, Dale Ellis scored 24 points. Ellis scored five points in a 13-3 run late in the game that ended Detroit’s hopes.

Washington 109, Indiana 103--The Bullets, missing their injured scoring star Bernard King and overweight John Williams, who was suspended Friday, lost all eight of their exhibitions.

But with newcomer Michael Adams getting 23 points, 13 assists and nine steals, the Bullets opened the season with a surprising victory at Indianapolis.

San Antonio 140, Dallas 99--The Spurs, opening their bid for a third consecutive Midwest Division title, were impressive at San Antonio.

The Spurs played most of the game without Coach Larry Brown, who was ejected after picking up two technicals in the second quarter. He wasn’t needed.

They didn’t seem to miss holdout guard Rod Strickland, either.

The Mavericks were in control throughout, taking a 73-45 halftime lead.

Utah 112, Minnesota 97--The Timberwolves’ new coach, Jimmy Rodgers, opened with a loss at Minneapolis and he blamed it on Jazz forward Karl Malone, who had had 35 points and 13 rebounds.

“Karl Malone was almost perfect,” Rodgers said. “You know they are going to Malone. They did all the things we expected, but they did them well.”

Golden State 108, Denver 105--The Warriors blew an 18-point lead at Denver but regained the lead on a three-point shot by Tim Hardaway with 79 seconds remaining.

Rookie center Dikembe Mutombo had 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Nuggets but was only six for 20 from the field.