Newsday, December 26th 1987

Knicks Give One Away Blow 14-point advantage, play poorly down stretch

PISTONS 91 KNICKS 87 At a time of the year when it's better to give than to receive, the Knicks gift-wrapped a game to the Pistons. Surely, this was an unexpected happening for the 14,549 yesterday at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks had come to expect Christmas to be their day to shine, having upset the Celtics in 1985 and the Bulls last year.

"Normally that happens, but sometimes the buck stops," guard Gerald Wilkins said. "The buck stopped today." The Pistons graciously accepted the Knicks' gifts down the stretch, turning them into points and winning their ninth straight game, 9187. They won without starting forwards Rick Mahorn, who had back spasms, and leading scorer Adrian Dantley, who was suspended one game for bumping an official. Guard Isiah Thomas recorded 21 points and 8 assists despite playing the last three quarters with a sprained right ankle.

The Knicks wasted a 28-point effort by Patrick Ewing and 12 assists by Mark Jackson. Ironically, Jackson missed a free throw and Ewing two as the Knicks failed to pad their 85-83 lead.

"This was a disappointing loss," Knicks coach Rick Pitino said. "We had the tempo going our way, but {the Pistons} played big in the fourth quarter."

The Knicks (8-17) led 58-44 in the third quarter and stayed ahead until two free throws by Bill Laimbeer (19 points, 16 rebounds) tied the score at 85 with 1:34 remaining.

The sequence that cost the Knicks dearly occurred on the Pistons' next possession. Kenny Walker intercepted Joe Dumars' crosscourt pass intended for Laimbeer and passed off to Jackson, starting a two-on-one fast break, with Laimbeer back.

Jackson drove the lane and tried to score over the 6-11 Laimbeer off a spin move instead of dishing off to the 6-8 Walker for a dunk. "I make the decision as the play goes on," Jackson said. "I thought it was the best decision to make."

Not when you consider the results. Laimbeer blocked Jackson's layup attempt, with the ball hitting the rim and ricocheting toward the left sideline. "I saw Jackson was in the air and he had no alternative but to shoot," Laimbeer said.

Pitino considered it one of the few errors in judgment Jackson has made. "He's made so many great plays, he'll learn from this one bad one," he said.

After the block, Thomas - ignoring his ankle injury - leaped over the front row of seats while batting the ball back to Dennis Rodman at midcourt. "I thought I would get it," Thomas said. "But I didn't know where I'd come down. Laimbeer did his part getting the block. He had given himself up. I gave myself up."

After a Detroit timeout, Dumars (19 points) put the Pistons up 87-85, hitting a jumper off a screen with 29 seconds left.

The Knicks lost their chance to tie the score when Wilkins (15 points) threw a pass to the right side of the lane intended for Sidney Green, who wasn't there. But Laimbeer was, as Green had turned into the lane to set a screen for Ewing.

"Unfortunately, the pass got thrown," said Green, who had four points and eight rebounds. "But it wasn't supposed to be thrown to me."

Wilkins is aware of that now. "It was a tough decision on my part," he said.

Laimbeer used the occasion to take a dig at Green, his former teammate, who had fought with Thomas in the previous game between the teams. "You could see it in {Wilkins'} eyes that he wanted to pass the ball in," he said. "But Sidney's not good at reading it and he ran away from it."

The Knicks missed out on their last chance to tie the score after Vinnie Johnson missed two free throws with 13 seconds left. Pistons forward John Salley (21 points) rebounded the second miss, was immediately fouled and sank both shots for an 8985 lead with 11 seconds left.

Green again was involved, this time in a miscommunication with Ewing on the rebound. "{The Pistons} have foul-shot plays," Pitino said. "We worked on it in our {morning} walk-through. Some of their people miss hard off the rim. We emphasized that."

Apparently not enough. Salley's free throws proved to be the winning points. Jackson scored for the Knicks with six seconds left, but Laimbeer officially ended the Knicks' two-game Christmas winning streak, hitting two free throws.

"That's all we ever heard last week," Laimbeer said. "Watching CBS, all the promos, telling about how well they play on Christmas. Christmas Miracle I and Christmas Miracle II. You can take only so much of that and you get mad."

The Knicks' players held a closed meeting in their locker room after the game, and it wasn't to exchange gifts. "We just decided to talk among ourselves, to tell everybody to stick together," Trent Tucker said. "We can't go 12 different ways. Sometimes losing can break up a family."

The Pistons have the best record in the NBA at 16-5 and have beaten the Knicks 12 straight times . . . Detroit hit just 14 of 30 free throws - 7 of 7 by Laimbeer and Thomas, 7 of 23 by everyone else. Rodman was 0-for6 with two air balls . . . Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson attended the game . . . The Knicks play the Hawks tonight in Atlanta.
Illustration

Newsday Photos by Paul J. Bereswill-1) Knicks' Patrick Ewing, above, dunks over Bill Laimbeer in second half for two of his 28 points. 2) Below, Trent Tucker pulls ball away from Pistons' Vinnie Johnson during first-half scramble. 3) Color Cover Photo (1 C)-SNEAKER ATTACK. Detroit guard Isiah Thomas scatters fans including actor Matt Dillon in black shirt while chasing ballduring Knicks' 91-87 loss to Pistons yesterday at the Garden. 4) Color Photo (Pg. 44) The Pistons' John Salley goes around Pat Cummings for a layup in Knicks' 91-87 holiday loss at the Garden.