NBA ROUNDUP : O’Neal Stands Tall in Loss to Knicks

Rookie Shaquille O’Neal, having his way for five consecutive games, was introduced to the rough-and-tumble defense of the New York Knicks on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

The 7-foot-1 center, was selected first in the draft by the Orlando Magic, left New York with one of his toughest pro games so far.

Patrick Ewing lost the statistical battle with O’Neal, while Ewing and teammates Charles Smith, Charles Oakley and Herb Williams gave the rookie his first lesson in NBA defense as the Knicks defeated the Magic, 92-77.

O’Neal, averaging 26.7 points and 16.7 rebounds, had 18 points and 17 rebounds, but the Magic scored 38 points fewer than its NBA-leading team average.

“I wanted to fulfill my role of scoring, rebounding and blocking shots, and I think I did pretty well,” O’Neal said. “Statwise, it wasn’t my best, but I was OK. I wasn’t getting the calls and the shots weren’t falling for me or the team, but I won’t let one game worry me.”

Ewing, who had 15 points and nine rebounds, said: “He’s a great player. He plays hard and is very strong. He’s knows how to find people when he needs help in the post.”

The Knicks, second in the NBA in fewest points allowed and next-to-last in scoring, led by as many as 18 points in the first half and held O’Neal to seven points. But Oakley, who helped Ewing keep O’Neal away from the basket, was ejected with 3:42 left in the second quarter after his second technical foul.

Smith, the former Clipper, scored 26 points and was one of three Knicks who achieved season highs in scoring. He helped save New York in the second half after Orlando cut a 22-point deficit to four.

“We hit a wall after it got to 74-70,” Magic Coach Matt Guokas said. “The Knicks played as strong a defense as we’ve come up against. They played their game better than we did ours.”

Rolando Blackman, with 16 points, and Doc Rivers, with 15, also had season highs for New York as Coach Pat Riley revamped his lineup, keeping Anthony Mason, John Starks and Greg Anthony on the bench.

“Let’s just say it was a growth change, not a benching,” Riley said of the three young players.

Washington 126, Utah 109--At Landover, Md., rookie Tom Gugliotta scored a season-high 39 points, including 16 in the decisive third quarter, as the Bullets ended their 10-game losing streak against the Jazz.

The Bullets had not defeated the Jazz since February, 1987, and were 0-8 at home against Utah since November, 1983.

Doug Overton had 21 points and 11 assists for Washington, which won its third in a row despite playing without injured starters Pervis Ellison and Rex Chapman. Gugliotta was 17 for 24, had 15 rebounds and five assists. The 39 points is the most by a rookie this season.

Karl Malone had 22 points and 14 rebounds for Utah, which came in with a four-game winning streak and a 5-0 road record.

Milwaukee 105, Indiana 95--Eric Murdock scored 20 points and Frank Brickowski added 18 at Milwaukee as the Bucks used tough defense and a late third-quarter spree to win their sixth in eight games. Reggie Miller led Indiana with 21 points and Detlef Schrempf had 20.

Philadelphia 104, New Jersey 95--Hersey Hawkins scored 19 of his season-high 39 points in the fourth quarter to rally the 76ers at East Rutherford, N.J. Philadelphia, which defeated Miami, 129-128, in triple overtime Friday, looked anything but tired as it outscored the Nets, 38-25, in the fourth quarter.

Houston 103, San Antonio 100--Sleepy Floyd continued his torrid pace, scoring 26 points at Houston, including four free throws in the final eight seconds, as the Rockets extended their winning streak to five games. David Robinson’s free throw gave the Spurs a 97-96 lead in the final minute, but Hakeem Olajuwon had a basket and Floyd made his free throws to seal the victory.

Olajuwon had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets. Antoine Carr led San Antonio with 18, Sean Elliott and Dale Ellis had 17 each and Lloyd Daniels scored 16.

Charlotte 123, Miami 111--Dell Curry scored 27 points and led a late surge at Miami that sent the Hornets to their third consecutive victory.

With Charlotte leading, 102-101, Curry made two jumpers during an eight-point run that made it 110-101 with 4:56 left. Glen Rice led Miami with 32 points. John Salley added 20 and Rony Seikaly 19 points and 16 rebounds. Larry Johnson had 18 points for Charlotte.

Atlanta 116, Boston 107--Dominique Wilkins scored 41 points and had 16 rebounds as the Hawks finally won a home game.

Wilkins, scoring 40 or more points for the 46th time in his career, made 16 of 27 shots as Atlanta posted its first victory in four games at the Omni this season and extended Boston’s losing streak to five games, its longest since February of 1989. The Celtics are 2-7, their worst start since opening 2-12 in 1978-79.

Seattle 138, Detroit 101--Gary Payton scored a season-high 21 points and Dana Barros came off the bench to score 19 in the SuperSonics’ romp at Seattle. The Pistons have lost four in a row and dropped to last place in the Central Division.

Denver 131, Minnesota 118--Todd Lichti scored 24 points and Chris Jackson 23 for the Nuggets at Denver. Christian Laettner had 23 points and Michael Williams 21 for Minnesota, which lost its third in a row. Chuck Person had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves.

Cleveland 119, Dallas 108--Mark Price and Larry Nance scored 26 points apiece and led a second-half charge that lifted the Cavaliers at Dallas.