Knack of the Knicks

Going into the N.B.A. finals against the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers figured that their primary goal was to stop Walt Frazier, who led the Knicks through the first two rounds of the play-offs with a sizzling average of 24 points a game. Stop him they did in the first game, holding Frazier to 12 points as they outlasted the New Yorkers 115-112. But the Knicks have made a religion out of the old locker-room slogan "There is no I in TEAMWORK." As Knick Captain Willis Reed pointed out: "Any guy might do it for us--the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth man."

In the next four games, in fact, the Knicks' top scorers were Forward Bill Bradley, 26 points; Center Reed, 22; Forward Dave DeBusschere, 33; and Guard Earl Monroe, 23. Together they added up to four straight wins and the second N.B.A. title for the Knicks.

Said Reed, who was presented with a Most Valuable Player award that could have been divided eight ways: "In the end it was our poise that held us together." Poise with a punch. The Knicks' triumph, in fact, has given the game a renewed emphasis that is echoed in the clarion call of the rabid Knick fans: "Dee-fense!" A relatively small team, the New Yorkers intimidate not by brute force but with a clawing finesse that presses the limits of the rules. Reed handled Laker Center Wilt Chamberlain, for example, with muscular simplicity: he leaned against the giant like a buttress. The result is not dirty or even roughhouse play but what the players like to call a "physical game"--the practice of deftly throwing your weight around to keep your opponent "honest." As Laker Coach Bill Sharman summed up the series: "Their defense really stopped our running game cold."

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