INDIANAPOLIS – The Pacers don’t think Patrick Ewing can beat them. It is Ewing’s job the remainder of the Eastern Conference Finals to make Indiana pay for that disrespect.
The sight of Ewing going against Dale Davis or ancient Sam Perkins, one-on-one, with no defensive help in sight, must have been startling to the Knicks. Ewing last night continued his strong post-season play with 21 points and mirrored the Knicks’ total team effort. Ewing had little difficulty scoring but all sorts of trouble guarding his man in a 102-88 loss to the Pacers.
Ewing too often allowed Rik Smits uncontested looks at the basket, and that is never wise, as the 7-4 Smits has the softest of touches. Smits was the catalyst in a 35-point first-quarter blitz with 10 of his 16 points, hitting 5 of 6 shots. Ewing was reluctant to move out on Smits, a trend that cannot continue.
“We gave ’em too much,” Ewing said. “I don’t know how many points they scored but we scored enough points to beat them but we didn’t step up on defense.”