Ewing Says Foot Injury Better; Game 3 Status Is Uncertain

Patrick Ewing had his foot examined Friday, then sat out practice as the New York Knicks prepared to play today’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals without him.

Ewing spent the morning at a Manhattan hospital, where an MRI examination revealed no tear of the peroneal tendon in his right foot. The Knicks described the injury as acute tendinitis and listed Ewing as day to day.

Ewing said he’ll decide whether to play when he gets to Madison Square Garden today.

“Patrick will make the decision whether he tries to give it a shot, and then I’ll decide if he’s being effective,” Coach Jeff Van Gundy said. “Just having him out there is of no value. If he can be effective, then certainly we want him out there.”

But with Ewing unable to run, the Knicks seemed to think they would be without him as they try to get back in the series. A loss in Game 3 would leave them trailing three games to none--a deficit no NBA team has recovered from.

Ewing said he injured his foot while trying a pump-fake against Dale Davis in the first quarter of Game 2 Thursday night. He missed the next three quarters.

Van Gundy’s options include starting Kurt Thomas, Chris Dudley or Camby in Ewing’s place.

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Phoenix guard Penny Hardaway had arthroscopic surgery to remove loose cartilage in his left knee. Hardaway was injured in a collision with San Antonio’s David Robinson in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series April 22. . . . Sun point guard Jason Kidd has signed a one-year contract extension, assuring he’ll be under contract with the team through the 2003-04 season.