Knicks have heart, no legs in Game 1
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS -- Patrick Ewing muscled into the lane for a shot he has put up so many times before. His mind told him it was time to leave the floor. His body wouldn't listen.
|  | | Latrell Sprewell talks things over Patrick Ewing during some down time. |
Ewing, his feet barely above the court, was an easy mark for
Indiana's Dale Davis, who swatted the ball away. That fourth-quarter sequence epitomized a team that didn't leave its
heart in Miami, but failed to bring its legs to Game 1 of the
Eastern Conference finals.
Dragging after a brutal second-round series with the Heat, New
York was hardly ready for all the offensive weapons of the Pacers.
Teetering on the edge of a blowout in the first half, the Knicks
fought back to make it close.
But they lacked a finishing punch, fading down the stretch in
the 102-88 loss.
"We weren't ready," said Latrell Sprewell, who led the Knicks with 22 points. "Although we got back in the game, we expended a
lot of energy to get there."
The Knicks came out with all the intensity of a team playing the
Clippers in mid-December. Maybe that was only natural, considering
New York had rallied from a 3-2 deficit against the Heat, winning
an emotional Game 7 on the road just two days earlier.
The Pacers, who needed six games to beat Philadelphia in the
previous round, came into the conference finals with benefit of a
four-day break.
It showed.
"We didn't make them work for their shots early," said Allan
Houston, who scored 18 points in spite of a sore ankle. "They
started feeling good offensively, getting shots, getting tip-ins
that you just can't allow a team to get. The tone was set early. We
never made adjustments."
After getting down and dirty with Miami, the Knicks couldn't
cope with a team that got double-figure scoring from all five
starters and the bonus of 22 points from reserve Austin Croshere.
"I think we understand now," said Larry Johnson, held to a mere three points. "Unfortunately, it took us a game to learn it.
But I think we'll come out next time with more intensity."
New York still seemed to be suffering from jet lag when the game
opened, falling behind 35-17 at the end of the first quarter and
going down 42-23 early in the second. Ewing had been virtually
invisible to that point, but he somehow mustered the energy to get
the Knicks back in the game.
The 37-year-old center scored 11 points during a 20-6 spurt that
closed the gap to a mere 52-48 at halftime, stunning the rowdy
Conseco Fieldhouse crowd. Sprewell hit a 13-footer to open the
second half and, suddenly, the Knicks were within a basket of tying
things up for the first time since the opening tip.
But, like a boxer jabbing his way out of trouble, the Pacers kept New York away throughout the third quarter. Then, Indiana delivered the knockout to its weary opponent, which couldn't muster the comeback that has become its trademark in these playoffs.
"We've been in these situations before and always fight back to
get over the hump," Sprewell said. "Today, it was not in the
cards for us."
Sprewell had only one point in the final quarter. Ewing scored just three of his 21 points in the last 12 minutes.
The Knicks can only hope to find their legs before Game 2, just two days away. The Pacers expect nothing less.
"It's going to be a long series. It's going to be a dogfight,"
Pacers guard Reggie Miller predicted. "I'm more worried about Thursday's game because they will have time to prepare."
And rest.
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