clarinews@clarinet.com (02/01/90)
_A_l_t_e_r_n_a_t_e_ _L_e_a_d BOSTON (UPI) -- Boston Celtics center Robert Parish won't hide the fact that he puts a little extra effort into games against New York -- and more specifically, Patrick Ewing. ``He's a great ballplayer,'' said Parish after leading the Celtics to a 97-91 victory over the Knicks with 26 points and 11 rebounds. ``How can you not get up for him? The times you don't get up for him you're going to be embarrassed.'' The loss was the sixth in seven games for New York and dropped the Knicks into a first-place tie with Philadelphia in the Atlantic Division, half a game ahead of Boston. Parish, who is nine years older than Ewing, picked seven of his rebounds off the offensive glass, including two in the final 35 seconds when New York was in a position to tie the game. ``I was just crashing the boards,'' said the 36-year-old center. ``Nothing special.'' After two Larry Bird free throws had snapped a 91-91 tie with 1:25 left, New York's Pete Myers missed a long jumper with one minute remaining. Celtics guard John Bagley missed an outside shot with 35 seconds left, but Parish grabbed the rebound. Parish repeated the feat 22 seconds later, picking off a rebound of a missed Reggie Lewis jumper. Bird, who had 19 points, iced the game by hitting four free throws in the final eight seconds. He has now tied the club record by making 59 consecutive foul shots. Counting six playoff games, the Knicks have lost 23 consecutive games at Boston Garden since Feb. 29, 1984. Kevin McHale had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Boston, followed by Lewis with 15 points. Ewing led the Knicks with 21 points, 17 in the second half and 6 in the final 3:07 of the game. The New York center, however, converted only 8 of 19 field goal attempts and had just five rebounds. He blocked six shots. Parish was 12 for 22 from the floor with three blocked shots. Gerald Wilkins had 18 points for New York, while Charles Oakley chipped in 11 and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. Unlike many teams, the Celtics chose to have Parish defend Ewing one-on-one, without using any double teaming. This left the other Boston defenders free to pressure New York's outside shooters and cut off the passing lanes. ``(Parish) played very good defense on me,'' said Ewing, who has never won an NBA game at Boston Garden. ``We came into the game feeling we were going to win and break the omen, but unfortunately that didn't happen. That's going to come.'' The Knicks shot 42.5 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 19 times. Boston was only slightly better, with 43.9 percent shooting and 18 turnovers. ``I'm sure we didn't get 20 points in the last quarter, but we made the big defensive plays and Robert got the rebounds,'' said Bird, who led Boston with 10 assists. Boston tallied 18 and New York just 15 in the final low-scoring quarter. Boston, which led 52-47 at the half and 79-76 after three quarter, took an 87-82 lead on a McHale tip-in with 5:53 left in the game. But the Knicks scored 5 consecutive points, 3 by Ewing, to tie the game at 87-87 with 3:07 left. Baskets by Lewis and Parish were matched by 4 points by Ewing as New York earned its final tie, at 91-91, on a Ewing layup with 1:51 left. Boston's Dennis Johnson was hit hard by Oakley in the first quarter and had to be helped off the court with a torn right thigh muscle. Team physician Dr. Arnold Scheller said Johnson would be sidelined for one and four weeks, depending on how quickly the muscle heals.