The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Lenny Wilkens turned Stephon Marbury loose and enjoyed a laugher in his first game as coach of the New York Knicks.

Newly named New York Knicks head coach Lenny Wilkens talks to Kurt Thomas and Keith Van Horn during a third quarter timeout. (AP photo)

Marbury had 17 assists before going to the bench for good with nine minutes remaining in a 108-88 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Friday night.

Repeatedly looking to shoot the first open shot, the Knicks had the kind of offensive freedom not seen from the home team at Madison Square Garden in quite some time. Keith Van Horn scored 30 points in just 28 minutes and Allan Houston added 18 in a game that turned into a blowout before halftime.

Two days after Don Chaney was fired, Wilkens was introduced with no fanfare during pregame introductions. But the fans were chanting Wilkens' name by the third quarter.

"I don't want them to take five steps backward," Wilkens said, "so what I'll do is just watch and tweak some of the things that they are doing offensively, encourage certain things."

Marbury finished three assists shy of his career high and four short of the franchise record of 21 by Richie Guerin on Dec. 12, 1958, against St. Louis.

Ray Allen scored 23 points for Seattle, which hasn't won in New York since Nov. 24, 1996.

Pacers 89, Spurs 79

INDIANAPOLIS - Reggie Miller scored 28 points, including seven 3-pointers, to lead Indiana over San Antonio.

Jermaine O'Neal overcame foul trouble to score 12 of his 20 points in the final quarter, when the Pacers took control.

Fittingly, it was Miller who provided the dagger. He nailed a 3-pointer with 48.5 seconds left to give the Pacers an 84-73 lead. The shot brought the near-sellout crowd to its feet, as they chanted "Reggie! Reggie!" Then, for good measure, he knocked down a 28-foot bomb to cap the scoring.

Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 16 points and nine rebounds, but the Spurs lost for the fourth time in five games.

Spurs pulled out an 89-88 overtime win at home Saturday night. Miller made sure the result wasn't the same this time. The 17-year veteran added five rebounds, five assists and three steals in a throwback performance.

Pistons 98, Wizards 77

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Detroit won its 11th straight game, routing Washington behind Richard Hamilton's 17 points.

Chauncey Billups added 12 points and 10 assists for the Pistons, who hadn't won 11 in a row since the 1990-91 season.

Tayshaun Prince added 16 points for the Pistons, and Mehmet Okur had 13 points and nine rebounds.

The Wizards have lost 10 straight on the road and five in a row to Detroit.

Magic 124, Celtics 118, OT

ORLANDO, Fla. - Tracy McGrady had 42 points, Drew Gooden scored a career-high 32 and the Orlando Magic made their first four shots in overtime to beat the Boston Celtics.

McGrady had his fourth 40-point outing of the season. He opened the extra period with a 3-pointer, making up for his missed 3 that would have won the game as time ran out in regulation.

After Paul Pierce and Jiri Welsch made consecutive baskets to put the Celtics up 115-114, Gooden's jumper gave Orlando the lead for good. Keith Bogans and Juwan Howard then scored on back-to-back possessions while the Celtics missed their next five shots during their first OT game of the season.

WIZARDS: Washington signed former Xavier Musketeer Torraye Braggs to a 10-day contract, filling a hole in the lineup caused by Christian Laettner's five-game drug-policy suspension.