Knicks' 'D' Beats Lakers 101-89

March 1, 1998 / 12:00 AM EST / CBS/AP

Banged up and undermanned, the New York Knicks showed the Los Angeles Lakers they still have plenty left.

Playing one of their most inspired games of the season Sunday, the Knicks got 32 points from Allan Houston and overcame numerous injuries and a height disadvantage to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 101-89.

"It's about pride, strength and integrity," said one of the newest Knicks, Terry Cummings."Ultimately what it boils down to is a pride issue."

That pride was on display for all to see as the game was shown on national television. The Knicks forced the game to be played in their favorite style - a slowdown, defensive battle - and kept Shaquille O'Neal from being any kind of a factor in the fourth period, holding the 7-foot-1 center to just one point and no rebounds.

The Knicks outscored the Lakers 33-18 over the final 12 minutes and kept Los Angeles from grabbing a single offensive rebound. They also showed more positive emotion than has been seen all year at Madison Square Garden.

"You can't help but see this was an emotional game," Houston said. "For what we've overcome, some of the injuries and some of the things we've gone through, I think a lot of that comes to the surface and you just have to show it."

John Starks added 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists and Charlie Ward had 15 points, shooting 5-for-5, with seven assists and three steals.

New York held the Lakers to just one field goal over the final 6½ minutes and kept Los Angeles 17 points below its league-leading average.

It was the eighth victory in 10 games since the All-Star break for the Knicks, who won despite being without the injured Patrick Ewing, Buck Williams, Chris Dudley and Chris Childs. Also, Starks was playing with a hyperextended elbow and Larry Johnson had a sprained thumb.

"We did a good job stepping up to the plate and swinging. we're not letting too many pitches go by," Starks said.

O'Neal had 19 points but shot just 6-for-16. He also was outrebounded 9-7 by Charles Oakley, who guarded him almost the entire game despite giving up almost 5 inches in height and 70 pounds in weight.

"I didn't shoot the ball, we didn't take high percentage shots and I never get the calls in this sorry league," O'Neal said.

Derek Fisher added 18 points before fouling out, Eddie Jones had 15 and Kobe Bryant 14 for Los Angeles, which will complete a six-game road trip Monday night at Washington.

The Lakers took the lead late in the second quarter and held it until early in the fourth.

"Guys, I want to see some fire in your eyes. I want to see the eye of the tiger - that's what it takes in every big game," Lakers coach Del Harris screamed during a timeout.

But his players ignored his plea, and New York then retook the lead with :02 left when Houston made one of his three 3-pointers for a 75-74 lead.

A 3-pointer by Bryant with 6:36 left gave the Lakers an 80-79 edge, but it would be their last basket until a 3-pointer by Rick Fox pulled Los Angeles to 89-87 with 2:40 left.

Houston then answered with another 3, Bryant missed two shots and Ward drove around the 19-year-old for a layup and three-point play that made it 95-87 with 55.5 seconds left.

"We expect to win every game no matter who we're playing," Houston said.
"We don't want to go in like in the past and try to hang in there. A lot of times we used to say `We'll try to hang in there and win it in the fourth quarter.' Now we expect to be up going into the fourth."

Two incidents the rest of the way signified that this wasn't the Lakers' day.

O'Neal, finally getting the ball in the low post, dribbled it off his foot with 42 seconds left, and Bryant botched a dunk with 18 seconds remaining.

"All in all, they showed their experience," Lakers coach Del Harris said."In the big games and close games, everyone has got to know how the veteran teams come and play physical. In this game, their experience and defense showed."

Notes: Herb Williams, the 40-year-old backup center re-signed by New York on Thursday after being traded to Philadelphia and then waived, had four fouls and four points in nine minutes. He was the only other player to defend O'Neal 1-on-1. ... Los Angeles fell to 9-12 when failing to score 100 points. ... The Lakers failed to sweep the season series from the Knicks for the first time since 1991-92. Los Angeles also had its three-game road winning streak halted.