Ewing Shows His Rust in Knicks’ Victory

His body was healed, his shot was still hurting.

Patrick Ewing returned Friday night without his touch, although he still remembered how to rebound and shoot free throws well enough to help the Knicks to an 85-78 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at New York.

Ewing, playing his first game since June 1 after recovering from a partially torn Achilles’ tendon, was 0 for 8 from the field and seven for eight from the line. He also had 10 rebounds and five fouls in 30 minutes, and his foul shooting down the stretch helped the Knicks hold off the Sixers.

“It felt good, better than I expected,” Ewing said. “I’ve got to get a basket, of course.”

Latrell Sprewell scored 31 points to lead the Knicks, who were able to stay in a guard-oriented offense even when Ewing was on the floor.

Ewing, who missed the first 20 games of the season, often found himself a spectator on the court as his teammates stuck with what they’ve grown comfortable with, and there were only one or two plays where they reverted to the old style of dumping the ball into Ewing.

“The guy’s been out for six months, so you can’t just automatically change the offense the day he comes back--especially with the success we’ve had playing the way we’ve played,” Allan Houston said.

Miami 107, Sacramento 97--Alonzo Mourning scored 37 points and the Heat scored 15 straight in the fourth quarter at Sacramento.

This was the Kings’ first loss at home this season. They had won their first seven at Arco Arena this season and 15 straight regular-season home games since last April.

Trailing by four midway through the fourth quarter, Miami went on a 15-0 run to take a 99-88 lead with 1:52 remaining.

Chris Webber had 26 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento. Nick Anderson scored 16 points and Vlade Divac had 12. Jason Williams, who was ejected late in the game, had 12 assists.

Indiana 136, Cleveland 88--Rik Smits scored 16 of his 25 points in the first quarter, and Jalen Rose added 23 points at Indianapolis as the Pacers won their fifth in a row.

Dale Davis added 18 points and 20 rebounds, and the final margin of 48 points was the Pacers’ largest ever against the Cavaliers, topping a 36-point win in 1981.

Boston 100, Houston 96--In their first game of the post-Charles Barkley era, the Rockets came all the way back from a 25-point deficit but couldn’t go ahead and lost at Boston.

Utah 101, Seattle 83--John Stockton had 15 points, 10 assists and six steals, and Karl Malone added 21 points and 11 rebounds at Salt Lake City.

Stockton and Malone each had eight points in the last 6:05 of the first half, when the Jazz took control with a 16-4 run.

Chicago 71, New Jersey 69--Elton Brand made a five-foot jumper and a free throw in the final 30 seconds, and Dickey Simpkins got in the way of Stephon Marbury’s driving layup at Chicago as the Bulls finally won their second game of the season.

Golden State 107, Atlanta 99--Mookie Blaylock had 19 assists and seven steals against his former team at Atlanta as the Warriors ended an 11-game losing streak.

Charlotte 106, Denver 99--Anthony Mason had 21 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Hornets at Charlotte.

Milwaukee 107, Toronto 91--Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson each scored 22 points at Toronto as the Bucks ended the Raptors’ three-game winning streak.

Vince Carter scored 25 points and had nine rebounds and four assists.