Knicks 112-Sonics 106 01.24.00

Player of the Game:HOUSTON-27Pts,9Rbds,4Ass Best Scorer:Allan Houston-27 Best Rebounder:Allan Houston-9 Best Passer:Allan Houston-4

NEW YORK-Gary Payton was ejected so quickly, he didn't get to see his teammates give the kind of effort--albeit a losing one--that he had been demanding. One night after criticizing his teammates for their lack of hustle and toughness, Payton got himself ejected late in the first quarter of a 112-106 loss to the New York Knicks on Monday night. Payton had to be restrained by his teammates as he stormed after referee Ted Bernhardt, who whistled him for two technical fouls. "That was just angryness right there, because it was a shock to me to get thrown out there in the first quarter. I didn't come to New York to sit in my locker, I came here to play basketball," Payton said. "I'm not going to go and hit anybody," Payton said, explaining why he went after Bernhardt. "I'm not that ignorant, I'm not crazy. I just wanted to make a point that that was wrong." The Sonics still managed to play with the passion that Payton had complained was missing, and they kept the game close the rest of the way but still lost their third in a row. Allan Houston scored 27 points, Latrell Sprewell had 24 and Patrick Ewing added 18 for the Knicks, who bounced back from a 13-point loss to San Antonio on Saturday. Shammond Williams, a seldom-used second-year guard who took over the playmaking duties after Payton was ejected, led Seattle with a career-high 22 points. Williams' previous career-high, reached Friday night in a loss at Boston, was three points. Vin Baker and Brent Barry added 21 points apiece. Payton drew his first technical foul for arguing a personal foul while defending Sprewell with 1:28 left in the first quarter. After the technical foul shot, Payton continued to talk to Bernhardt near center court, with both men smiling at one point in their conversation. But seconds after Payton turned and walked away, Bernhardt called another technical and tossed Payton out. On Sunday after a loss at Toronto, Payton ripped his teammates by calling them "old ladies" and saying they were playing soft and weren't hustling. His teammates took the message to heart, playing hard throughout Monday's game despite the dire outlook after Payton's early ejection. "If we had played like that at Boston and Toronto, we probably would have had wins and this wouldn't be a big loss for us," Payton said. Williams had a crowd-pleasing two-handed jam midway through the third quarter, then ended the period with a long jumper over Sprewell as the two were isolated against each other to give Seattle a 79-78 lead entering the fourth quarter. Kurt Thomas gave the Knicks the lead for good on a three-point play after a 60-foot pass from Houston to make it 85-83 with 7:44 left. New York led 97-94 before breaking away on a steal and two free throws by Charlie Ward, a put-back and a free throw by Ewing and a 3-pointer by Houston that made it 105-96 with 1:14 left. "I think (Payton's ejection) took a lot of luster out of the game," Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "I would have liked it if it was everybody for them and everybody for us."