JP/10/nba

Knicks look unbeatable with derailing of Pacers

NEW YORK (Reuter): Patrick Ewing poured in 32 points and snared 13 rebounds as the New York Knicks pulled away from the Indiana Pacers for an 89-78 victory and a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday.

Ewing scored 20 of his points in the second half, including 11 in the fourth quarter.

"He was just not going to let us lose this game," said New York coach Pat Riley.

The best-of-seven series moves to Indiana for Game Three on Saturday and Game Four on Monday.

The Knicks took the lead for good at 64-62 on a 3-pointer by Derek Harper off the backboard with 1:17 left in the third quarter. The New York point guard smiled and shrugged after making the lucky shot, which sent the Madison Square Garden crowd into a frenzy.

Harper finished with 18 points, eight assists, a steal and some tough defense on Indiana's scoring machine, Reggie Miller, who led the Pacers with 23 points.

"Derek had just a great night. He's been struggling the last couple games but he got the job done," said Riley.

Harper, who usually concentrates on distributing the ball rather than scoring, said the difference was that he was "Just trying to be aggressive. Tonight I saw opportunities to take advantage of their defense."

New York managed to contain Miller even though John Starks, who would normally be his prime defender, was on the bench for long stretches due to foul trouble.

"I think they're contesting every one of Reggie's shots, personally," said Indiana coach Larry Brown. "He's going to make his share, but he's not getting great looks."

Brown added: "I think Reggie is putting a lot of pressure on himself."

Rik Smits was Indiana's second leading scorer with 22 points, but Brown felt his team was over-reliant on the big Dutchman: "The way our team is playing, it's like we're having Rik try to beat the Knicks."

The Knicks led 66-62 at the end of the third quarter and made it 75-64 with 7:47 left in the fourth on a 9-2 run in which Ewing had six points.

New York pushed the lead up to 82-70 with 4:37 left in the fourth on a tough basket in traffic down low by Charles Oakley, who finished with 17 points and six rebounds.

Two free throws by Smits brought Indiana within 83-76, but the Knicks scored the next four points. New York outscored the Pacers 23-16 in the fourth.

The Knicks led by as many as eight points in the first quarter before failing to hit a field goal in the first 5:55 of the second - making just 1-for-16 from the field in one stretch - and Indiana moved out to an eight-point lead.

But New York finished the quarter with a 9-1 rush to tie it at halftime 40-40.

The Pacers are playing in their first conference finals since entering the NBA in 1976.

Result Eastern Conference finals New York 89 Indiana 78 (New York leads best-of-seven series 2-0)