Bulls Look For 70th, But Heat Find 60th

Around the NBA

Jamal Mashburn scored 23 points Wednesday night and Miami won 102-92, turning back the visiting Chicago Bulls’ (69-12) bid for their 70th victory. It was the Heat’s 60th win.

Tim Hardaway scored 22 points and Alonzo Mourning added 21 for the Heat.

Scottie Pippen had 28 points for Chicago. Michael Jordan added 26 but missed 16 of 27 shots.

Elsewhere

At New York, Patrick Ewing scored 24 points, including New York’s final six, and the Knicks gained a victory that was crucial to their hopes for a high playoff seed as they beat Atlanta 96-92.

The Knicks started the night trailing Atlanta by one game for the Eastern Conference’s third seed, but they moved back into a tie with the Hawks and clinched the tiebreaker edge by winning the season series 3-1.

At East Rutherford, N.J., rookie Allen Iverson’s streak of 40-point games ended at five and the Philadelphia 76ers ended an eight-game losing streak with a 113-105 victory over the New Jersey Nets.

Jerry Stackhouse scored 20 of his 34 points in the first quarter and Iverson added 27 after missing some time because of a third-quarter collision.

Iverson, who had averaged 43.6 points in his five-game run, played second fiddle to Stackhouse, who had hinted on Tuesday that he would leave Philadelphia after his contract ran out next season if things did not improve. Stackhouse backed off that stance before Wednesday’s game.

At Boston, Tony Delk scored 17 of his 18 points in the second half as the Charlotte Hornets won a franchise-record ninth straight game, 108-102 over the Boston Celtics.

At Landover, Md., the Washington Bullets ended Indiana’s seven-year playoff run and enhanced their own chances of qualifying for postseason play by beating the Pacers 103-90.

At Cleveland, Tyrone Hill had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers stayed in the run for the final playoff spot in the East with a 78-63 victory over the Orlando Magic.

At Portland, the Trail Blazers held the Denver Nuggets to their lowest point total ever in a 107-63 victory.

Stewardesses file claim

Two flight attendants quit working on the New York Knicks’ private jet after claiming they were sexually harassed by Patrick Ewing and another team member, the New York Post reported.

The women alleged in resignation letters sent two weeks ago that they were repeatedly groped, verbally abused and pushed.

The Post said Ewing denied the charge. The other team member was not identified in the story. The two women have not been identified publicly. They were the only attendants on Knicks flights over the past three seasons.

Off the court

Darryl Hardy, a junior center for Winston-Salem (N.C.) State, said he will make himself available for the upcoming NBA draft. … Orlando Magic center Rony Seikaly was sidelined for Wednesday night’s game with two sprained ankles. Seikaly is questionable for Friday’s game against Washington. … The New York City Police Department has accused one of its officers of trying to shake down Hornets forward Anthony Mason for $100,000 last summer. The officer, Thomas Fursa, allegedly asked for the money to testify in Mason’s favor following a scuffle in Times Square, the New York Post reported.