1986 Cs Move to 11-2 with Win Over Knicks

Big Three Tally 70 Points, 29 Rebounds, 14 Assists, Three Blocks

Kevin McHale says the Boston Celtics have been together so long that they take their skills for granted. It took Bill Walton, one of the newest members of the team, to make him understand just how difficult it was to play against the towering Celtic front line.

"He told me that just when you get by one guy, there's another one there to block your shot," McHale said. "And when you think you've got position for a rebound, someone else reaches over you. It's tough. But it takes someone from the outside to come in and tell you before you realize it."

Patrick Ewing, who grew up across the Charles River from Boston in Cambridge, Mass., certainly realizes it now. He and the Knicks faced the Celtics for the first time this season last night at Madison Square Garden and lost, 113-104. Although the presence of the Celtics seemed to inspire the Knicks to some of their best basketball so far in this lackluster season, Ewing and his teammates eventually succumbed to the taller, stronger, and more talented Celtics.

Ewing, the Knicks' rookie, who was returning from a sprained left ankle that had forced him to miss two games, struggled against a front line that not only included the 6-foot-11-inch McHale, the 7-foot center Robert Parish and the 6-9 Larry Bird, but also was fortified by the addition of Walton, the 6-11 veteran of 11 pro seasons.

Ewing missed six of his first seven shots, grabbed only four rebounds in the first half and was not the intimidating player who had run roughshod over opponents such as Atlanta, Phoenix and Seattle. Indeed for much of the game, he appeared dejected -an emotion that he had not shown before.

Wasn't Playing Well

"It wasn't just because my shots weren't falling," Ewing said after the game. "I wasn't playing as well as I would have liked to have been."

Ewing finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. The forward Pat Cummings, coming off his best performance of the season Friday night in Washington against the Bullets, added 20 points.

But their efforts paled in comparison to Parish, McHale and Bird, who is struggling with his shooting this season. The three combined for 70 points and 29 rebounds - 14 offensive - as well as 10 assists by Bird and four by McHale, who also blocked three shots.

"They just beat you to death," said Hubie Brown, the Knick coach.

The Knicks' primary strength in this game came from the backcourt, where Rory Sparrow exceled as a playmaker. He hit 12 of 14 field goals to score a season-high 27 points, which, when combined with his 13 assists and only one turnover in 39 minutes, proved to be his best performance of the season.

A fastbreak lay-in by Sparrow and a fadeaway 18-footer by Ewing tied that game at 76-76 midway though the third period. But over the next 2 minutes 38 seconds, the Celtics pulled away with a 12-2 surge - fueled by three turnovers and three missed shots in four attempts by the Knicks.Later Brown said those missed shots and turnovers "killed" his team.

The Knicks rallied once again in the final period, slicing a 12-point deficit to 102-96 on an offensive rebound dunk by Ewing with 5:18 left. But Ewing missed on his next two attempts and baskets by McHale and the guard Danny Ainge helped Boston increase its margin to 10, which proved insurmountable.