Houston and Knicks Rejected in Detroit

Allan Houston expected a negative reception on his return to Auburn Hills and he received one.

Making his first return to the Palace since bolting the Detroit Pistons to sign as a free agent with the New York Knicks last summer, Houston was booed every time he touched the ball Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, Lindsey Hunter scored 22 of his season-high 28 points in the first half and the Pistons stormed to a 112-78 victory, snapping the Knicks’ seven-game winning streak.

“I expected a lot of boos,” said Houston, who was held to two points. “I didn’t know how harsh they would be. I wasn’t nervous. I just wanted to come out and do something. I just didn’t expect the kind of game it was.”

Grant Hill had his first triple-double of the season with 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the Pistons.

Denver 95, Sacramento 79--Ervin Johnson scored a season-high 18 points and had a career-high 23 rebounds as the Nuggets ended a 10-game losing streak with the victory at home.

Antonio McDyess added 17 points and Mark Jackson had a season-high 16 assists for the Nuggets, who had lost four in a row to the Kings. The win helped Denver avoid tying the franchise’s worst start, 5-20 in 1990-91.

Mitch Richmond scored 32 points and Olden Polynice had a season-high 18 rebounds for the Kings.

Phoenix 114, Washington 107--Rex Chapman scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter at Phoenix, making a 16-foot jumper with 20 seconds left to put the game out of reach, as the Suns defeated the Bullets for the 17th consecutive time.

Hot Rod Williams had a season-high 22 points, a total matched by Sun teammate Michael Finley. Danny Manning had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Indiana 102, Orlando 95--Reggie Miller scored five of his 34 points in the second overtime to cap a strong second-half performance that carried the Pacers past the Magic at Orlando. Miller also had 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Dennis Scott led the Magic with a season-high 27 points but missed 10 consecutive shots in the fourth quarter and in overtime.

Cleveland 99, New Jersey 81--Terrell Brandon scored 16 of his 28 points in the decisive third quarter as the Cavaliers won their third in a row, beating the injury-depleted Nets at Cleveland.

Seattle 106, Portland 102--Gary Payton made a game-tying three-pointer with 49 seconds left, then made one of two free throws with 12.1 seconds remaining as the SuperSonics won at Portland. Sam Perkins scored a season-high 25 for Seattle.

Golden State 123, Minnesota 96--Joe Smith ignited a sluggish Warrior offense with 30 points and 12 rebounds and Golden State ended a four-game losing streak with the home victory.

Minnesota, which has lost eight of its last nine games, was led by Tom Gugliotta’s 20 points.