NEW YORK -- Kenny Smith shrugged off the Houston Rockets' 15th straight victory, which tied the mark for the best start in NBA history.
'Business as usual,' Smith said after the Rockets manhandled the New York Knicks, probably the best team in the East, for a 94-85 victory.
Hakeem Olajuwon, matched up against the player he calls his toughest opponent -- Patrick Ewing -- scored 37 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, dished out five assists and blocked three shots, staking his claim as the best player in the game.
'I was more aware of trying to maintain the lead than thinking of the confrontation one-on-one,' Olajuwon said. 'I was just playing my game, taking my shots.'
The Rockets' 15-0 start matched the start of the 1948-49 Washington Capitols. Houston has held all its opponents under 100 points and under 50 percent shooting from the field. The Knicks, who were coming off four days rest, hit just 38 percent of their shots and were held to 33 percent in the third quarter, when Houston opened up a 21-point lead.
The game carried the added significance of being a matchup between two teams considered likely to reach the NBA Finals. The Knicks appear to face little challenge in the East, while the Rockets are one of three teams -- with the Seattle SuperSonics and Phoenix Suns -- favoredto come out of the West.
'It reinforces our confidence, knowing that if we play the way we know how, we can beat them,' Olajuwon said. 'We have to keep working hard.'
Vernon Maxwell added 17 points for the Rockets, who improved to 9-0 on the road and tied the club record for consecutive victories, set last season.
The Rockets built an 11-point lead in the second quarter when they held the Knick reserves scoreless for more than six minutes. The Knicks hit just five of 19 shots and were outrebounded 17-9 in the quarter.
The closest New York got after that was 53-46 early in the third. But the Rockets responded with a 9-2 run, capped by Olajuwon's jam and jump hook, which put them up 62-48.
'I feel like they got a bit timid and their shots stopped falling,' Maxwell said. 'Pat (Ewing) missed shots he usually makes. We were triple-teaming him and he had to make some decisions he probably didn't want to make.'
Olajuwon scored 10 points in a 16-5 run over a 5:23 span in the third quarter when Houston turned a 64-54 lead into an 80-59 advantage with 26 seconds left in the third quarter. He had 16 points in the quarter.
The Houston center took Ewing completely out of his game, forcing him further away from the basket than he normally likes to work and wearing him out with his catlike quickness with the ball.
'Hakeem kicked my butt,' said Ewing, who scored just 12 points and hit only 4 of 20 from the field. 'I was frustrated because I was missing shots I usually make and he was scoring.
'I was still going to shoot,' he added. 'If I was still getting the ball I probably would have gone four for 50.'
The only bright spot for the Knicks was John Starks, who after starting the game three for 13 from the field shed the mask he was wearing to protect his broken nose and proceeded to light up the Rockets. He went nine for 13 in the second half and finished with 35 points.
'I'd trade anything for a win,' Starks said. 'This was a tough loss for us.'
