Knicks 99-Celtics 97 12.12.99
NEW YORK-Patrick Ewing's shooting slump lasted so long that the crowd stood and cheered when he finally made one. Ewing missed his first six shots, making him 0-for-14 in his comeback, before finally making three of them Sunday night as the New York Knicks hung on to beat the Boston Celtics 99-97. "I'm encouraged every day I can get out there and play," said Ewing, who finished 3-for-11 with seven rebounds and five blocks. "The more I play and the more I practice the better my basketball skills will come back." It was the 14th straight loss at Madison Square Garden for the Celtics, who learned earlier Sunday that Paul Pierce's ankle sprain was worse than previously believed. The Celtics' leading scorer will be out at least two weeks. Allan Houston scored 26 points, but missed two foul shots with 2.1 seconds left that would have iced the win the third time in four games that he failed to either clinch a game or tie it from the line in the final 12 seconds. "I don't know what it is," coach Jeff Van Gundy said, "but I still want him taking foul shots late in the game. The Celtics inbounded from midcourt with 1.8 seconds left, trailing 99-97, and got the ball to Antoine Walker 35 feet away from the basket. Trying to free himself from Larry Johnson, Walker lost control of the ball and never got a shot off. "We had five great options available and they chose to go with a sixth that I didn't have planned," coach Rick Pitino said. Walker led the Celtics with 24, Vitaly Potapenko had 21, and Kenny Anderson 18. The Celtics shot 39 percent, making them the eighth straight Knicks opponent to be held below 40 percent. Johnson scored 23 including seven in the final two minutes Latrell Sprewell had 17 and Kurt Thomas 15. Ewing, 0-for-8 Friday in his first game back since partially tearing his Achilles' tendon June 1, was 0-for-6 in the first half with many of the shots missing badly as Ewing was aiming the ball rather than just shooting. With each miss, the groans from the crow grew louder. "There comes a time when you get to feel it in the Garden, everyone wants him to do well and hit the shots," Houston said. "It's the same for us (players). You see a guy work so hard and you want it to pay off. Ewing finally scored his first bucket of the season 1:09 into the third quarter on a drive across the lane, and the basket drew an extended, loud ovation from the crowd, which Ewing acknowledged with a wave. "I was telling them thank you, I appreciate it," he said. The Knicks took the lead for good in the second quarter and were still up by 16 early in the fourth before Boston made a big run. The lead was down to 90-87 before Johnson converted a three-point play with 2:00 left. The Celtics pulled within three again with seven seconds left on a layup by Dana Barros, but Chris Childs made one of two at the line with 5.7 seconds left to make it 99-95. Anderson scored an uncontested layup with 2.8 seconds left, and the Celtics immediately fouled Houston to set up the missed free throws. "Obviously I've shot free throws so well throughout my career, there's no other excuse for it except concentration," Houston said. "Maybe I'm rushing them a little bit." The Knicks took control with a 16-2 run midway through the second quarter, turning a 35-33 lead into a 51-35 advantage. Thomas had six points in the run and Houston had four. The Celtics missed 14 of their first 16 shots and had seven turnovers in the quarter. Pierce sprained his ankle at practice Saturday and was told by the team's medical staff to wear a brace on it at night. Instead, he took the brace off and the ankle swelled up, turning a relatively minor injury into one that will keep him out of the lineup for at least two weeks.
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