Ewing Shines In Seattle Veteran Center Scores 41 In Knicks’ Ot Win Over Sonics

Patrick Ewing played like he was 23, not 33.

“The big fella still has it,” Seattle’s Shawn Kemp said after watching Ewing score a season-high 41 points as New York beat Seattle 100-97 in overtime Friday night. “When guys get older, they lose some of their game. He definitely hasn’t.”

Ewing, who had six points in overtime and a season-high 16 rebounds, put the Knicks ahead 97-95 with a 20-foot shot with 33.3 seconds left. The Knicks outscored the Sonics 8-2 in the final 1:45 of overtime.

“I don’t feel I was in any kind of zone,” Ewing said. “I didn’t even know I had 41 points until after the game. I didn’t even notice.”

“He wasn’t in a zone?” Derek Harper said as he studied the final boxscore. “Is that what he said? Are you kidding me? Yeah, this was definitely a zone, a real zone. It was nice to see.”

Seattle was led by Kemp’s 25 points and 14 rebounds.

Ewing, who entered the game averaging 21.2 points compared to his career average of 23.8, sent the game into the overtime with an 8-footer from the side with 6.3 seconds to go after Sam Perkins put Seattle ahead 87-85 with 24.3 seconds left in regulation with an 18-footer. Hersey Hawkins missed a 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer.

The Knicks, one of only six teams in the NBA with a winning road record, handed the Sonics just their second loss at home this season. The Pacific Division leaders had a 10-game KeyArena winning streak broken.

“Patrick was a force tonight,” Harper said. “He made his moves so quick on offense that the double teams couldn’t get to him.”

“It feels good to win a good game, especially against a quality team like Seattle,” Ewing said. “I was tired, but this one felt good.”

Ewing’s 41 points were his most since he scored 46 against Boston on March 7, 1995. It was his 30th career 40-point game.

Seattle led 94-91 after Nate McMillan sank a 3-pointer with 2:03 left. But the Knicks came back with Ewing’s 5-footer with 1:45 to go, an 18-footer by Harper with 1:17 on the clock, Ewing’s critical 20-footer and two free throws by Starks with 20.1 seconds remaining.

New York played its second straight game without Charles Oakley, who was sidelined with tendinitis in his left Achilles tendon. Knicks 100, SuperSonics 97 (OT)

FG FT Reb NEW YORK Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Mason 42 3-4 2-5 0-9 1 6 8 Smith 18 0-5 1-2 1-2 3 3 1 Ewing 45 18-28 5-7 4-16 2 4 41 Harper 43 7-16 3-4 1-3 4 3 17 Starks 34 4-11 7-8 1-5 3 4 17 Christie 25 2-6 2-4 0-5 5 3 6 Davis 26 2-5 0-1 1-2 1 1 4 Grant 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Ward 31 3-6 0-0 2-3 6 5 6 Totals 240 39-81 20-31 10-45 25 30 100

Percentages: FG .481, FT .645.

3-Point Goals: 2-17, .118 (Starks 2-6, Christie 0-1, Davis 0-1, Ward 0-3, Harper 0-6). Team Rebounds: 7. Blocked shots: 2 (Ewing 2). Turnovers: 18 (Ewing 4, Ward 3, Smith 3, Christie 2, Mason, Starks, Davis, team 3). Steals: 9 (Ewing 3, Ward 3, Harper, Starks, Christie).

Technical fouls: Coach Nelson, 3:41 first; Mason, 3:41 first. Illegal defense: 1.

FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Kemp 42 8-15 9-10 3-14 2 5 25 Perkins 46 5-16 4-4 1-5 0 3 16 Johnson 15 0-2 0-0 1-5 1 5 0 Hawkins 46 5-15 6-7 1-3 3 5 17 Payton 48 6-15 9-12 2-5 3 4 22 Askew 31 4-4 3-3 0-4 3 3 12 McMillan 27 1-4 0-2 0-6 4 3 3 Wingate 7 1-2 0-0 0-1 2 1 2 Scheffler 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Snow 1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 Totals 265 30-73 31-38 8-44 18 30 97

Percentages: FG .411, FT .816.

3-Point Goals: 6-21, .286 (Perkins 2-7, Askew 1-1, Payton 1-3, McMillan 1-4, Hawkins 1-6). Team Rebounds: 7. Blocked shots: 4 (Kemp 2, Perkins 2). Turnovers: 22 (Kemp 8, Payton 3, Askew 3, McMillan 3, Johnson 2, Hawkins 2, Wingate). Steals: 10 (Hawkins 3, Kemp 2, Payton 2, McMillan 2, Scheffler).

Technical fouls: Illegal defense, 6:24 second; Illegal defense, 8:36 third. Illegal defense: 1. New York 23 25 21 18 13 - 100 Seattle 26 20 19 22 10 - 97

A-17,072 (17,072). T-2:47.

Officials-Ronnie Nunn, Ted Bernhardt, Woody Mayfield.