NEW YORK 77, ATLANTA 70 ----------------------- ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Only half of the New York Knicks' dynamic scoring duo showed up tonight. But that was more than enough for them to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Latrell Sprewell scored 31 points for the second straight game and capped a decisive run that spanned the third and fourth quarters to help compensate for Allan Houston's poor performance and lift the Knicks to a 77-70 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Sprewell and Houston combined for 65 points in Tuesday's 100-92 win, but Houston scored only two points on 1-of-8 shooting tonight. With Patrick Ewing continuing to limp his way through a variety of injuries, Sprewell took control. He made 8-of-16 shots from the field and 15-of-19 from the line to lead New York to its fourth win in five playoff road games. After a surprising offensive explosion by both teams in Game One, the clubs reverted to the defensive mode that led to an average of less than 155 combined points in three regular-season meetings. Ewing scored 12 points and Marcus Camby added 11 and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who held Atlanta to 30 percent (24-of-81) from the floor. Ewing, hampered by an aching Achilles tendon and a strained rib, logged 37 minutes. Mookie Blaylock collected 17 points for Atlanta, which got only 10 points on 1-of-8 shooting out of Chris Crawford after the 6-9 forward earned a start with his 26-point effort in Game One. Games Three and Four are Sunday and Monday at Madison Square Garden. PORTLAND 84, UTAH 81 -------------------- SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- It wasn't pretty, but the Portland Trail Blazers will take it, along with home-court advantage in their Western Conference semifinal series. Isaiah Rider scored a playoff career high 27 points, including eight of his team's final 10, as the Trail Blazers escaped with an 84-81 victory over the Utah Jazz, earning a split of the first two games of the best-of-seven series. In a game that featured the lowest-scoring quarter and half in postseason history, Portland survived when John Stockton's potential tying layup rolled around the rim before falling out with two seconds remaining. After Shandon Anderson's 3-pointer pulled the Jazz even at 64-64 with 6:58 to play, Rider buried a shot from beyond the arc to spark an 9-0 spurt that gave Portland a 73-64 cushion with 5:29 to play. Karl Malone, who led Utah with 23 points and 17 rebounds, pulled his team within 73-69 with a three-point play and pair of free throws with 3:46 left. Greg Anthony made the first of two free throws before Jeff Hornacek and Rider staged a duel down the stretch. Hornacek made a running jumper in the lane to cut the deficit to 74-71 with 3:14 remaining but Rider answered with a 15-footer. Hornacek hit a 17-footer before Rider sank a pair from the line to make it 78-73 with 1:39 left. Hornacek's running jumper with 1:17 to go was met by two more free throws from Rider before Stockton's 3-pointer closed the gap to 80-78 with 37 seconds remaining. Rider again answered the call, making a layup with 17 seconds left to give the Blazers an 82-78 lead. But Hornacek was up to the task, draining a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left that trimmed the deficit to one. Anthony was fouled with 10 seconds to go and made 1-of-2 at the line to provide the Jazz with an opportunity to tie or win. Stockton accepted Bryon Russell's inbounds pass and dribbled down the lane before releasing a layup that circled the cylinder but fell out. Brian Grant, the recipient of Malone's brutal elbow in Game One, bounced back with 23 points and nine rebounds and Arvydas Sabonis grabbed a postseason career-high 14 boards for the Blazers, who host Games Three and Four on Saturday and Sunday. Hornacek finished with 19 points and Anderson had 16 for Utah, which also lost at home to Sacramento in Game Two of the first round before winning the series in a decisive fifth game. -=-=- 