B J Armstrong

Lindsey Hunter is handling Isiah Thomas' absence pretty well. Hunter, a rookie from Jackson State, played all 48 minutes Sunday and scored a season-high 23 points to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 103-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at Auburn Hills, Mich. "They didn't tell me to expect 48 minutes, but it happened and I really didn't mind," Hunter said. "I was feeling really relaxed, and it really didn't bother me."

A memorial service for former Laker great Wilt Chamberlain is scheduled for this morning at the City of Angels Church of Religious Science near Marina del Rey. The service is scheduled for 10 a.m. A second memorial service will take place Thursday at Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Philadelphia, just blocks from the high school where Chamberlain first achieved fame on the basketball court. The 7-foot-1 center, whose dominance changed the game, died Tuesday of heart failure at his Bel-Air home.

In an in-and-out Thursday night in Toronto, five Damon Stoudamire three-point shots went in, but most of the fans stayed out, missing the Raptors' 110-96 victory over the Utah Jazz. Marcus Camby managed to go in and come out. Stoudamire made two three-point baskets in the final 2:38 and scored 17 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter for Toronto, which ended a four-game losing streak. Then he sent out a message that help had finally arrived.

In his first encounter with referee Joe Crawford since throwing a chair in Chicago, Scottie Pippen again watched the end of the game from the bench. But this time he wasn't ejected. He left on good terms, having fouled out after scoring 35 points in 41 minutes, as the Chicago Bulls blew a 24-point lead before holding off the Golden State Warriors, 97-93, Sunday night at Oakland.

The Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a dreadful fourth quarter and held off a furious rally to defeat the Knicks, 99-91, Tuesday night at New York. John Williams scored 19 points, including a 19-foot jumper with 1:03 remaining to give the Cavaliers a 93-87 lead after the Knicks had stormed back from a 27-point second-half deficit to pull within four. Until Williams' last basket, the Cavaliers had scored only eight points in the final period.

Gary Payton would have enjoyed his record-setting performance even more if the Seattle SuperSonics had needed it. "We were cruising tonight, so I really didn't have to take that many shots," Payton said Wednesday night after setting a team record for accuracy by making all 14 of his shots as the SuperSonics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 116-85, at Cleveland to end the Cavaliers' 11-game winning streak.

The Atlanta Hawks didn't like the odds going into the game. They had lost nine times in a row to the Detroit Pistons, who were working on seven-game winning streak and playing at home in Auburn Hills, Mich. But the Hawks played great defense and got 22 points from backup forward Duane Ferrell and finally beat the Pistons, 89-77, Monday night. The victory was the second in a row for Atlanta, which broke a seven-game losing streak Saturday night.

John Stockton is best known for his passing ability, but the Utah Jazz guard is also one of the NBA's premiere defensive players. Stockton scored 17 points and had 17 assists and one steal for the Jazz Wednesday night in a 110-107 overtime victory over the Boston Celtics at Salt Lake City. Stockton's steal made him only the third player in NBA history to reach 1,900 steals. The others are Maurice Cheeks and Alvin Robertson.

Coach Tom Davis said senior forward Kevin Gamble came to the rescue of his fourth-ranked Hawkeyes as Iowa rallied to beat Arizona, 89-80, in a nonconference basketball game Saturday. "We struggled in the first half, mainly due to Arizona's great defense," Davis said. "They had shut out (sophomore forward Ed) Horton and (sophomore guard Roy) Marble, so someone else had to pick up the slack. Gamble did that."

Detroit had a shot against Orlando and didn't take it. The Pistons were trailing by three points when Lindsey Hunter dribbled the length of the court for an uncontested layup at the buzzer Monday night at Orlando--a lapse that assured the Magic its fifth consecutive victory, 96-95. Nick Anderson scored 31 points for the Magic, which squandered a 10-point second-half lead and nearly lost control again down the stretch because it was only able to convert six of 11 free throws in the final 2:18.