Wednesday, February 25, 1998
By Dave Del Grande
STAFF WRITER
NEW YORK -- If you had to choose one NBA player to challenge in a game of H-O-R-S-E, it probably would be Muggsy Bogues.
After all, presuming you've reached your teen-age years, you're probably taller than the 5-foot-3 point guard -- and that can work to your advantage.
And just as important, the guy frankly isn't much of a shooter.
But here's a word of caution: If the little guy goes to the left-handed hook against you, just walk away. You're through.
Bogues wasn't exactly horsing around Tuesday night when he threw in a you-had-to-see-it-to-believe-it 12-foot lefty hook, one of the most incredible shots in recent Golden State history, with 1:25 remaining. The New York Knicks might as well have left the court at that point, because they were doomed to an 87-82 loss at Madison Square Garden.
"I was yelling, 'Throw it up,"' Jim Jackson said of the game-saving shot. "At least then you get a shot at an offensive rebound."
Oh, there was no rebound on this shot.
Allan Houston had just hit a 3-pointer, cutting a six-point Warriors lead in half. And the Knicks were one second from forcing a 24-second violation when Bogues reached into his bag of tricks.
Knowing he would get just about any shot blocked by John Starks, who's a foot taller, Bogues shocked everyone by reaching backward with his left arm, looking somewhere in the vicinity of the Warriors' bench and flinging a prayer toward the hoop.
"That was the only option I had. He (Starks) cut off my right hand," Bogues said of just his third basket of the game. "I glanced up at the (shot) clock and I knew I had to shoot. And that was the only shot I had."
Bogues insisted he knew the shot was going in as soon as it left his fingertips. The result didn't surprise Donyell Marshall, either.
"He's a point guard. He's got to be able to use both hands," noted Marshall, the Warriors' leading scorer with 19 points. "I'm sure his lefty hook shot is a lot better than mine and Damp's (Erick Dampier's)."
The highlight-reel hoop made it 83-78 with still 1:25 to go, but it might as well have been 183-78. The Knicks were done.
"That was it right there. We knew we had it," Marshall assured.
Added Jackson, "If that had happened to us, no doubt, you'd know it wasn't your night."
This was such a good night for the Warriors, even coach P.J. Carlesimo was in a jovial mood afterward.
"He got it all wrong," the longtime coach at nearby Seton Hall claimed. "It was supposed to be a Dick Barnett -- you know, step back and kick the (right) leg in the air. Instead, he gave us a Willis Reed --the hook.
"It was the ghost of Knicks past."
The Knicks got back within three on two Charlie Ward free throws with 40.7 seconds left, and they had a chance to get the ball back after Marshall misfired badly on a long jumper just before the shot-clock horn with 17 seconds to go.
But Clarence Weatherspoon ran down the long rebound in the left corner and fed Bogues, who fittingly dropped in two game-clinching foul shots.
It was an emotional win not only because of Bogues' amazing shot but because it came just two days after the Warriors, in a game similar to this one for 3 quarters, blew a late lead in a 90-82 home loss to the Heat.
This time, the Warriors let a 10-point halftime lead vanish into a 75-73 deficit with 4:08 to go before scripting a new finish and recording just a fourth road win in 28 tries this season.
"I was a little nervous," Marshall admitted. "The Miami game helped. It gave us a little experience. It was something we had to go through."
Bogues may have saved the game just after the Knicks had taken the lead.
After the Warriors had missed nine of their previous 11 shots, he hit a 10-foot runner in the key to kill the Knicks' momentum and Golden State never trailed again.
"The situation creates itself," the 11th-year veteran said when asked why he had taken the critical shot. "I don't mind taking big shots. I'm a winner. That's all I know is winning."
Larry Johnson wasn't sure he knew what the Knicks had lost, although he admitted to having seen a shot similar to Bogues' hook before.
"Yeah," he assured, "in a H-O-R-S-E game."
Hmmm ... maybe the NBA can squeeze that into the All-Star Weekend next year.