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Knicked at the end Ewing's late jumper sinks Pacers 83-81
Posted: Tuesday April 11, 2000 11:08 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Another emotional Knicks-Pacers game came down to another controversial call -- or, in this case, a non-call - on a 3-pointer by Larry Johnson. In a finish reminiscent of Game 3 of last year's Eastern Conference finals, Patrick Ewing redirected Johnson's off-target 3-pointer into the basket with 21.7 seconds left and then hit a turnaround jumper with two seconds left. The shots gave New York an 83-81 victory over Indiana on Monday night and left Reggie Miller questioning the integrity of the league. "They're cheating us now," Miller said. "I don't know if it's being a small-market, but we'll never get the benefit of the doubt like the big-market teams like New York and Los Angeles. That's just the league being the league. Enough is enough." On a night with all the tension, drama and excitement of a playoff game, Ewing scored nine of the Knicks' final 12 points and had a hand -- or at least a couple of fingers -- in the other three. Johnson shot a 3-pointer from the right corner that was headed toward the front rim, but Ewing jumped and tipped the ball in. "It didn't look like Patrick touched it, but he said he did," Johnson said. Offensive goaltending should have been called, but none of the referees saw it. "I screwed the play up," lead official Joey Crawford said. "We just watched it. The tape doesn't lie." The Pacers argued vehemently, but to no avail.
"I was standing right there. I had a better view than the officials," Pacers coach Larry Bird said. "It has happened to us before in here. We accept it and move on." In last season's conference finals, Johnson converted a controversial four-point play -- a 3-pointer and a foul -- to give the Knicks the Game 3 victory that swung the momentum of the series. On that play the whistle blew well before Johnson released the shot, but the officials awarded the basket anyway. After the Johnson-Ewing 3-pointer, Miller tied the game at 81-81 on two foul shots with 15.7 seconds left. The Knicks then got the ball to Ewing in the low post, and he sank one of his trademark fadeaway shots from the baseline over the outstretched arm of Dale Davis. "The ball was supposed to go to Allan, but if he wasn't open or (Latrell Sprewell) wasn't open in the corner, I'd get it in the low post," Ewing said. "I got a good spot and was able to hit my patented shot." The Pacers got one last shot, but Miller missed a 3-point heave from about 28 feet. Had the shot gone, it would have given the Knicks their second straight loss on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer after Miami's Tim Hardaway beat them that way Sunday. Ewing and Sprewell both finished with 20 points, and Johnson added 17. The Knicks held Miller and Jalen Rose, Indiana's two leading scorers, to nine points apiece. The Pacers' lead over Miami for the best record in the Eastern Conference remained at one game, because the Heat lost 96-80 Monday at Philadelphia. Ewing scored seven straight points down the stretch for the Knicks, the last two on a jumper that gave New York a 78-75 lead with 2:37 left. Travis Best answered with a jumper, Ewing missed from the baseline and Rik Smits hit a 15-footer to put Indiana up 79-78 with 1:40 left. Houston then missed two jumpers sandwiched around a turnover by Smits, and Smits went to the line with 32.8 seconds left and missed both shots to set the stage for Johnson's -- and Ewing's -- controversial 3-pointer. "Rik Smits just wasn't there," Bird said. "He hit one jump shot in the fourth quarter and that is why I have not been playing him in the fourth quarter. It's hard to have a lot of confidence in a guy that dribbles around and loses the ball and cannot convert free throws, at least one of them, down the stretch." Rose picked up three fouls in the first eight minutes and sat out the rest of the first half, and Miller was limited to 12 first-half minutes because of foul trouble. But the Pacers didn't let the Knicks pull away, trailing by no more than eight in a half that ended with the Knicks holding a 44-40 lead. Houston picked up his fourth foul five minutes into the third quarter, leading to two free throws by Davis that tied that game at 53-all. Smits followed with a short jump-hook to give the Pacers their first lead since the opening minutes. The Pacers led 64-63 entering the fourth, and neither team led by more than three the rest of the way.
Notes: Chris Mullin, a 93 percent free-throw shooter, missed a technical foul shot in the second quarter. ... Indiana, shooting 81.4 percent from the line, stands to become the first team since the 1992-93 Cavaliers to make more than 80 percent of its free throws. ... The Pacers took 24 foul shots to the Knicks' seven. ... Mark Jackson led the Pacers with 13 points. ... Ewing has led the Knicks in scoring in four of the last five games.
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