Prince Of The City

Shaquille O'Neal Stepped out of a stretch limousine, while taking care that his full-length, custom-tailored black leather coat (with a Superman logo on the back) did not touch the wet sidewalk, and began strolling through Times Square. A seven-foot-one-inch, 300-pound giant sporting a lot of leather tends to attract attention, even in New York City, and soon a crowd was following O'Neal and Orlando Magic teammate Dennis Scott as they checked out the sights last Saturday morning. O'Neal doesn't particularly like the Big Apple—"Too much traffic," he said about a hundred times during his eventful 24-hour visit—but he is accustomed to it, having made frequent forays to the city during his formative years, when he lived in Newark, N.J., 10 miles away.

In fact, only one thing seemed to impress this 20-year-old, who is already so famous that he is universally known by his one-syllable nickname: Shaq, pronounced Shack. "Right in this area," said Shaq with a bit of awe in his voice, "they filmed Home Alone 2."

Some 10 hours later, on the court inside Madison Square Garden and surrounded by yet another crowd, O'Neal felt rather like the young protagonist of that cinematic masterpiece. He was lost and alone, dazed and somewhat confused, with trouble lurking everywhere. Turn around, and there was Patrick Ewing applying a forearm to his kidneys. Spin to the left, and there was Charles Smith, long arms raised like a set of goalposts. Spin to the right, and there was the granite Charles Oakley, elbows at the ready. Receive the rock in the post, and see nothing but a sea of white shirts, with no seam in the defense.

Yes, the New York Knicks had come out with a whip and a chair to tame the frisky phenom in his first pro effort against an All-Star—Ewing—in the pivot. And at quick glance, tame him they did. Shaq forced shots, traveled, charged, bricked free throws and threw the ball away. He played, in short, like the rookie that he is, and the Knicks won 92-77.

But take a closer look. In what all sides conceded was a subpar performance, O'Neal outscored (18-15), outrebounded (17-9) and even outassisted (well, it was 2-1) Dream Teamer Ewing. Ewing blocked O'Neal's first jumper, but Shaq subsequently sent back two of Ewing's offerings; and O'Neal had four thunderous dunks, while Ewing got none. Foul trouble is the traditional stumbling block for young centers in these duels. O'Neal had four, which had little effect on his playing time (44 minutes); Ewing had five, which limited him to 35 minutes on the floor.

In fact, what was billed as an "epic clash" of centers-for-the-ages was neither epic (the players more or less neutralized each other) nor much of a mano a mano clash (O'Neal is already so respected that teams will not—cannot—guard him with only one player). Rather, it was like a meeting of two cagey veterans who know each other's moves so well that neither can get much done. But Ewing, a six-time All-Star, should have come out the victor. In Ewing's first "epic" NBA showdown, Moses Malone, then of the Philadelphia 76ers, schooled Ewing for 35 points and 13 rebounds. (Ewing's numbers were 18 and six.)

That was then; O'Neal is now. Clearly, Shaq is something that even Ewing was not as a rookie: talented beyond measure, mature beyond his years. He did not get flustered after a poor first half against the Knicks (seven points, five turnovers) and was not suckered into fisticuffs when Oakley tried to interest him in an exchange of elbows.

After the game, O'Neal and Ewing said all the right things. Ewing on O'Neal: "I just think he's an outstanding player. He works hard; he's aggressive." O'Neal on Ewing: "I think I did pretty good against him. It was a good show. Pat's a great player. I'm a pretty good player."

O'Neal was asked if he sensed that Ewing was really fired up for the showdown. "I don't know," he answered. "I'm not a facial-expression reader." Not bad.

The pregame hours of Shaq's Manhattan adventure were spent rather quietly. On Friday night he ate dinner at Smith & Wollensky's steak house with his father, Army Sgt. Philip Harrison, and his agent, Leonard Armato of Los Angeles, the man who procured for O'Neal a seven-year, $40 million contract, the richest in pro sports, as well as deals with Reebok, Spalding, Classic Games trading card company and Kenner Toys (coming soon: the Shaquille O'Neal action figure) worth $8 million. Armato picked up the tab. Later, in the lobby of the Magic's hotel, O'Neal politely obliged all autograph and photo requests, at one point even grabbing his father and flashing two fingers in the air while mugging for a camera.