Olajuwon Boosts Rockets Over NY

HOUSTON, Texas -- Hakeem Olajuwon said he felt rusty, but he still scored a game-high 28 points as the Houston Rockets held on for an 85-78 win to open the best-of-7 NBA Finals with the New York Knicks. "I was struggling through the whole game to get into the flow of the game," said Olajuwon, whose Rockets had an eight-day layoff. "Sitting down for a week, we were rusty." Olajuwon won his one-on-one battle against fellow center Patrick Ewing -- who had 23 points and nine rebounds -- and led the Rockets to victory over the cold-shooting Knicks before a sellout crowd in Houston Wednesday night. Game 2 is set for Friday night in Houston. In a game pitting two of the better defenses in the league, it was the Knicks' inability to score that was the big key. New York shot just 34 percent. Houston shot 41.8 percent. The Rockets went into the final quarter with a 72-63 lead, and quickly increased it to 75-63 after Ewing's fourth foul sent Olajuwon to the line for two free throws with 10:37 left. And Houston had the 12-point advantage as late as 8:51 left after a layup by Carl Herrera made it 77-65. But Houston wouldn't score another field goal until there was just over a minute left, on a dunk by Otis Thorpe. Meanwhile the Knicks were slowly chipping into Houston's lead, getting to within 77-71 after a short jumper by Ewing with 6:14 left. Ewing picked up his fifth foul with 5:19 remaining, and the Rockets' lead was 79-71 after two free throws by Olajuwon.But Ewing followed with a jumper and, after two missed free throws by Robert Horry, Anthony Mason scored on a layup with 2:53 left that had New York within 79-75. One of two free throws by Starks with 1:40 left closed the lead to 79-76, but over their next two possessions Starks shot an airball on a 3-point attempt and Greg Anthony threw a pass away. Meanwhile the Rockets were converting on their end, with a free throw by Olajuwon followed by Thorpe's dunk with 1:04 left giving Houston a 82-76 lead and putting the game out of reach. Having had a week off between the conference finals and Wednesday night's opening game, the Rockets in the beginning showed some of the rust the team had feared. Houston missed four shots and turned the ball over twice in its first six possessions. Meanwhile, the Knicks were moving the ball well on offense and took a 10-4 lead on a 3-pointer by Derek Harper just under three minutes into the game. Houston would respond with a 12-6 run that, after a layup by Otis Thorpe with 4:19 left, tied the game at 16. A big question going into the series was how the Knicks were going to play Olajuwon, who averaged 33 points and 16.5 rebounds in two games against New York this season. From the start the Knicks threw different looks at Olajuwon, alternating Charles Oakley and Ewing defensively on the league's most valuable player. That did not keep Ewing from getting into foul trouble, as he got his second when he slightly shoved Olajuwon on a dunk with 3:35 left. Ewing went to the bench, and Olajuwon hit a free throw to complete the 3-point play that gave Houston its first lead, 19-18. The Knicks were able to get as close as 49-45 after Oakley scored on a jumper with 1:36 left. But Kenny Smith hit a 3-pointer for Houston with 36.7 seconds left which, behind Olajuwon's 19 first-half points, led to a 54-46 lead. The Knicks never got on track in the third quarter, scoring just one field goal over the last four minutes and missing 20 of their 26 shot attempts. The Rockets did just slightly better, hitting six of 18 shots. But a seven-point, six-rebound quarter by Thorpe helped Houston take a 72-63 lead into the final quarter. (The Baltimore Sun, Reuters)