NBA FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
NEW YORK 16 31 24 23 94
PHOENIX 18 30 14 25 87 FINAL
Extended Box
NEW YORK (94) AT PHOENIX (87)
NEW YORK
REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
JOHNSON F 40 3-8 8-8 0 3 3 2 2 0 0 14
THOMAS F 23 1-3 1-2 3 5 8 1 3 2 1 3
EWING C 37 6-11 1-4 1 7 8 1 4 0 5 13
HOUSTON G 40 10-20 5-5 2 3 5 1 0 0 3 29
WARD G 26 1-5 3-4 0 3 3 5 1 5 3 5
CAMBY 20 2-3 0-0 2 8 10 0 4 1 0 4
CHILDS 22 1-4 0-0 0 0 0 4 3 1 1 3
SPREWELL 32 6-15 10-10 1 2 3 2 3 0 4 23
BRUNSON DNP - COACH'S DECISION
DUDLEY DNP - COACH'S DECISION
WILLIAMS DNP - COACH'S DECISION
WINGATE DNP - COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS 240 30-69 28-33 9 31 40 16 20 9 17 94
(.435) (.848) TEAM REBS: 9 TOTAL TO: 17(18 PTS)
PHOENIX
REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
GUGLIOTTA F 31 0-8 4-4 2 4 6 2 1 1 2 4
ROBINSON F 42 6-13 4-5 2 2 4 5 2 3 4 17
LONGLEY C 33 10-21 1-1 4 6 10 1 2 0 4 21
BAILEY G 17 3-6 0-0 3 5 8 0 0 0 0 6
KIDD G 39 5-16 0-0 3 3 6 6 3 4 2 11
BROWN 9 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 1 0 1 0
GARRITY 2 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
KLEINE 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MANNING 23 3-7 8-10 2 1 3 3 3 1 2 14
MCCLOUD 20 2-7 2-2 0 0 0 2 3 0 1 7
MORRIS 23 2-9 0-0 6 4 10 2 4 4 0 5
CHAPMAN DNP - SUSPENDED BY LEAGUE
TOTALS 240 32-88 19-22 22 27 49 21 20 13 16 87
(.364) (.864) TEAM REBS: 5 TOTAL TO: 16(19 PTS)
NEW YORK 16 31 24 23 - 94
PHOENIX 18 30 14 25 - 87
BLOCKED SHOTS: NEW YORK - CAMBY 2, EWING, JOHNSON. PHOENIX - ROBINSON 3,
MANNING.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: NEW YORK 6-16 (.375), JOHNSON 0-1, HOUSTON 4-6, WARD
0-3, CHILDS 1-3, SPREWELL 1-3. PHOENIX 4-18 (.222), ROBINSON 1-3, BAILEY
0-1, KIDD 1-6, MANNING 0-1, MCCLOUD 1-5, MORRIS 1-2.
TECHNICALS: PHOENIX - HEAD COACH AINGE.
OFFICIALS: RONNIE NUNN, GARY BENSON, MIKE CALLAHAN.
A - 19,023. T - 2:18.
Box Score
NEW YORK (94)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Johnson 40 3-8 8-8 0-3 2 2 14
Thomas 23 1-3 1-2 3-8 1 3 3
Ewing 37 6-11 1-4 1-8 1 4 13
Houston 40 10-20 5-5 2-5 1 0 29
Ward 26 1-5 3-4 0-3 5 1 5
Camby 20 2-3 0-0 2-10 0 4 4
Childs 22 1-4 0-0 0-0 4 3 3
Sprewell 32 6-15 10-10 1-3 2 3 23
Brunson DNP - coach's decision
Dudley DNP - coach's decision
Williams DNP - coach's decision
Wingate DNP - coach's decision
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 240 30-69 28-33 9-40 16 20 94
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.435, FT-.848. 3-Point Goals:
6-16, .375 (Johnson 0-1, Houston 4-6, Ward 0-3,
Childs 1-3, Sprewell 1-3). Team rebounds: 9.
Blocked shots: 4 (Camby 2, Ewing, Johnson).
Turnovers: 17 (Ewing 5, Sprewell 4, Houston 3,
Ward 3, Childs, Thomas). Steals: 9 (Ward 5,
Thomas 2, Camby, Childs).
PHOENIX (87)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Gugliotta 31 0-8 4-4 2-6 2 1 4
Robinson 42 6-13 4-5 2-4 5 2 17
Longley 33 10-21 1-1 4-10 1 2 21
Bailey 17 3-6 0-0 3-8 0 0 6
Kidd 39 5-16 0-0 3-6 6 3 11
Brown 9 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 1 0
Garrity 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 2
Kleine 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Manning 23 3-7 8-10 2-3 3 3 14
Mccloud 20 2-7 2-2 0-0 2 3 7
Morris 23 2-9 0-0 6-10 2 4 5
Chapman DNP - suspended by league
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 240 32-88 19-22 22-49 21 20 87
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.364, FT-.864. 3-Point Goals:
4-18, .222 (Robinson 1-3, Bailey 0-1, Kidd 1-6,
Manning 0-1, Mccloud 1-5, Morris 1-2). Team
rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 4 (Robinson 3,
Manning). Turnovers: 16 (Longley 4, Robinson 4,
Gugliotta 2, Kidd 2, Manning 2, Brown, Mccloud).
Steals: 13 (Kidd 4, Morris 4, Robinson 3,
Gugliotta, Manning).
____________________________________________
New York 16 31 24 23 - 94
Phoenix 18 30 14 25 - 87
____________________________________________
Technical fouls: Phoenix 1 (Head Coach Ainge,
4:20 2nd). Flagrant fouls: None. A: 19,023. T:
2:18. Officials: Ronnie Nunn, Gary Benson, Mike
Callahan.
Game Story
PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Patrick Ewing reached a milestone in the
early going, but Jeff Van Gundy and the New York Knicks may be
thankful they did not have to depend on him down the stretch to
avoid their worst losing streak in over three years.
Latrell Sprewell scored 10 of his 23 points in the final period
and helped Van Gundy breathe a sigh of relief as the Knicks
ended their three-game skid with a 94-87 victory over the weary
Phoenix Suns.
Allan Houston scored a season-high 29 points, including 13 in
the third quarter but none in the fourth, as the Knicks beat
Phoenix for the fourth straight time.
Ewing grabbed his fourth rebound of the game with 3:49 left in
the first quarter, becoming the 12th player in NBA history to
collect 20,000 points and 10,000 rebounds. He finished with 13
points and eight rebounds.
"What means more to me is winning the game," Ewing said. "Yes,
it does mean something to me, and I'm happy for it, but there's
one more goal I need to reach and that is winning a
championship."
The mainstay of the Knicks for the last 15 years, Ewing had been
criticized recently for his poor play in the final minutes. He
missed his third potential game-winning shot of the season
Wednesday at Sacramento when he came up short on a turnaround
jumper with 5.7 seconds remaining in a 92-91 setback.
Rumors continue to swirl regarding the job status of Van Gundy,
whose Knicks averted matching their worst losing streak since a
four-game slide from February 23-March 1, 1996. New York
improved to 15-13 -- good for eighth place in the Eastern
Conference -- and won for just the fourth time in 13 road games.
"We've been finding ways to lose games like that," Van Gundy
said. "When we went down in the fourth quarter, it was good to
find a way to win tonight."
Luc Longley had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who were
playing their third game in three nights. They stunned the
Lakers in Los Angeles on Wednesday before losing to the
league-leading Trail Blazers in Portland on Thursday.
With Rex Chapman out due to a league suspension for bumping an
official during the loss to Portland, leading scorer Tom
Gugliotta failed to step up. The Suns' high-priced offseason
acquisition missed all eight of his shots from the field,
finishing with four points and six boards.
"He did not get really involved in the offense. That did not
cost us," said Suns coach Danny Ainge. "Obviously, if he goes
8-for-8, that gives us a better chance of winning. But I was
more discouraged with him not getting any easy shots."
Phoenix made eight straight free throws, including six by Danny
Manning, to take a 78-77 lead with less than six minutes to go.
Larry Johnson, who contributed 14 points, answered with a layup
that put the Knicks ahead for good with 5:09 remaining.
Sprewell followed with a fast-break layup to make it 81-78.
Jason Kidd cut the deficit back to one with a short jumper, but
Ewing had a follow shot and Sprewell buried an 18-footer to push
the advantage to 85-80.
Longley responded with a tip-in and, after Ewing committed one
of his five turnovers, Phoenix had a chance to tie the game. But
George McCloud missed a 3-pointer, and Sprewell helped seal the
win by hitting two free throws with 51 seconds to play.
"In the fourth quarter, the difference was execution," Sprewell
said. "We rebounded the ball and made free throws -- all the
things we didn't do in close games that we lost."
Phoenix finished 4-of-18 from beyond the arc, including Kidd's
1-of-6 effort and a 1-for-5 showing by McCloud. Houston
connected on 4-of-6 3-pointers and New York made 6-of-16
overall.
Cliff Robinson scored 17 points and Manning added 14 for the
Suns, who owned a 49-40 rebounding edge but shot 36 percent
(32-of-88) from the field. Kidd hit just 5-of-16 for 11 points.
"That's been our Achilles heel, not being able to finish it up
and putting teams away," Robinson said. "It's just frustrating
when you have the effort and you don't get the results you're
looking for."
New York scored the first 11 points of the third quarter to take
control. Houston scored six points in the surge, including a
jumper that capped it for a 58-48 lead. His 3-pointer gave the
Knicks their largest lead, 69-56, with 3:10 left, and they owned
a 71-62 advantage heading into the fourth.
New York avoided its fourth straight fourth-quarter collapse.
Prior to squandering a nine-point lead in the final six minutes
at Sacramento, the Knicks shot 2-of-18 in the fourth quarter of
an 80-71 loss to Atlanta. That came one day after they blew a
seven-point lead in the final five-plus minutes and lost in
overtime to Toronto, 85-81.
"In the fourth quarter, we played a little bit smarter," Ewing
added. "We made baskets down at the other end. In the previous
games, we let them score, but then we wouldn't score. But
tonight, we made some big plays."
