It`s fitting that the New York Knicks` first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years is against the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers were their opponent the last time they reached this stage in 2000, and this meeting marks the ninth postseason series between the two franchises. Six of these intense matchups took place between 1993 and 2000, with each team winning three series. Two of these six series went the distance and are considered some of the most memorable playoff battles ever.
During that era, the Pacers were led by Reggie Miller, a sharpshooter whose notorious trash talk was as effective as his three-point shot. The Knicks were spearheaded by Patrick Ewing, a future Hall of Fame center who did not have a friendly relationship with Miller at the peak of their rivalry. Ewing famously described Miller in the ESPN documentary `Winning Time` as a `great con man` who was `always crying to the ref, running off, flopping… to tell you the truth, I hated Reggie.`
As you can see, the Pacers-Knicks rivalry is not for the faint of heart. Before they face off again, here is a look back at the greatest moments from the rivalry`s intense period in the 1990s.
5. LJ`s Four-Point Play
If any team embodied the Cinderella story, it was the 1999 New York Knicks, who reached the NBA Finals as a No. 8 seed without their best player. Patrick Ewing was sidelined with injury, but they had a collection of determined players who had often been overlooked, including guards Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell, and Charlie Ward, center Marcus Camby, and former Charlotte Hornets star Larry Johnson.
Perhaps no player better personified the spirit of the `99 Knicks than Johnson, who had averaged a career-low 12 points per game that regular season. But like many of his teammates, Johnson proved in the playoffs that he still had magic left. After upsetting the top-seeded Miami Heat and sweeping the Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks met the Pacers for the right to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. The Pacers, coming off a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to Michael Jordan`s Bulls the previous year, were heavy favorites against a Knicks team that finished just 27-23 in the lockout-shortened season.
With the series tied 1-1, the Pacers led the Knicks by three points in the final seconds of Game 3 and needed one stop to secure the win. On the Knicks` final inbound play, a pass from Ward was tipped but recovered by Johnson, who seemed momentarily unsure what to do. After hesitating, Johnson pump-faked, drove left, and launched a shot while simultaneously drawing contact. The shot, to the astonishment of many, went straight through the net, tying the game and giving Johnson a chance to complete a rare four-point play after Antonio Davis was called for the foul. Johnson made the free throw, leading the Knicks to an improbable 92-91 victory. The Knicks went on to win the series in six games, although the Pacers would get revenge the following season, defeating New York in six games to reach their first NBA Finals.
4. John Starks` Headbutt
In many ways, this was the incident that truly ignited the Knicks-Pacers rivalry. It happened in Game 3 of their first-round series during the 1993 Eastern Conference playoffs, the inaugural postseason matchup between the two teams. Starks` outburst had been building for years, stemming from a perceived snub by Miller before their very first game against each other. Miller recalled in `Winning Time` that Starks wouldn`t shake his hand for sportsmanship, leading Miller to decide, `From that point on, I made it a mission. I`m gonna embarrass this kid.`
Trailing 2-0 in the series, the Pacers desperately needed a win to stay alive. For Miller, this meant escalating his incessant trash talk aimed at Starks. Late in the game, with the Pacers holding a comfortable lead, Miller intensified his taunts and physicality with the Knicks` point guard. `I was so mad,` Starks later admitted. `I wanted to hit him. Everything just came up to my head, and I just tapped him, and he went into the theatrics, falling back like I killed him or something.` A nudge from Miller seemingly broke the camel`s back. Starks charged down the court specifically to confront Miller, who admitted he went into full acting mode after Starks` head made contact with his own. `It didn`t hurt,` Miller said. `I was more in shock. But I was like, `I`m gonna milk this. I`m gonna act like I just got hit by a tank.` `
While Miller was fine, Starks was not. He was nearly physically restrained on the court by teammates Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley, who were furious that Starks had allowed himself to be provoked into an ejection. Ewing recalled Starks` mother later confronting him about touching her son, to which Ewing responded, `Mrs. Starks, if he headbutts [Miller] again, I`m gonna smack the living daylights out of him.` Game 3 went to Miller and the Pacers, but the Knicks took the series with a 109-100 win in Game 4, propelled by Ewing`s 28 points and 13 rebounds. The Knicks would ultimately reach the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to Michael Jordan`s Bulls in six games.
3. Miller Stuns `Choking` Knicks, Silences Spike Lee
Along with battling the Knicks, Reggie Miller had another target during Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals: Spike Lee. The acclaimed director and devoted Knicks fan was in his usual courtside seat, more demonstrative than ever, focusing much of his energy on tormenting the Pacers` star player. Miller later commented that Lee `became part of the game.`
For three quarters, Lee and the Knicks were enjoying a great night, taking a 70-58 lead into the fourth. But things quickly unraveled after Miller drained a three-pointer early in the final period. Miller recalled telling his teammates, `Guys, just set screens. I`m gonna make everything.` And he nearly did. Miller scored an astonishing 25 of his game-high 39 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Pacers to a 93-86 victory and a 3-2 series lead. While scoring at a blistering pace, Miller also jawed at Lee, whose evening had taken a dramatic turn for the worse.
During his iconic performance, Miller famously made the choke sign towards Lee. According to Lee, it wasn`t the only gesture. Years later, Lee recalled, `Right in front of me, my wife`s sitting right here, he puts one hand around his neck, and with the other hand, he grabs his crotch. I didn`t mind the choke sign, but to grab his nuts with my wife sitting right there? Come on.`
2. Starks and the Knicks Strike Back
After their collapse in Game 5 of 1994, most observers had written off the Knicks. They now had to win a game in Indiana to force a Game 7 back in New York. The atmosphere inside Market Square Arena was electric. With the franchise`s first NBA Finals appearance on the line, Pacers fans were incredibly loud and passionate. Longtime Pacers broadcaster Mark Boyle described it as `like a bunch of hungry people with raw meat at their fingertips.`
To his credit, Spike Lee, who many blamed for provoking Miller`s Game 5 outburst, was in attendance that night. Like his team, Lee was relentlessly jeered by the Pacers faithful, though their treatment paled in comparison to what he would have faced back home had the Knicks lost Game 6. Lee later said, `I`m praying to God, because I know, if we lose this game, it`s gonna be hard to live in New York City.` It was in this moment that John Starks delivered one of the most memorable performances of his career. He scored 26 points on highly efficient 8-of-11 shooting, including hitting five of his six three-pointers. Starks significantly outplayed Miller, who shot just 8 of 21 from the field and 2 of 7 from deep.
Looking back, Miller admitted, `I kind of blame myself for that Game 6 loss. If we were gonna move on to the Finals, we had to close them out in that game. Going back to Madison Square Garden, it`s gonna be tough.` Indiana actually held a 71-67 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but they scored only 19 points the rest of the way. Conversely, the Knicks, led by Starks and a dominant Patrick Ewing (24 points, 22 rebounds), put up 27 in the fourth quarter to secure the win and advance to their first NBA Finals since 1973.
1. Eight Points in Nine Seconds
Yes, you read that correctly. In the final eight seconds of Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Reggie Miller scored eight points in one of the most astonishing sequences in NBA history. Visiting Indiana trailed 105-99 with just 18.7 seconds remaining. Nearly everyone considered the game over, except for Miller. He recalled telling Mark Jackson, `Alright, let`s just try to get a quick 3.`
And then the chaos unfolded. Jackson, a former Knick and one of the era`s best point guards, initiated the play by finding Miller on the inbounds pass. Miller caught it, took one step, and drained a three over Starks. The score was suddenly 105-102 with 16.4 seconds left. That`s when things truly went haywire. On the ensuing Knicks inbounds pass, big man Anthony Mason (in that position because Derek Harper, the usual inbounder, had been ejected) pump-faked before fluttering a pass toward teammate Greg Anthony. Anthony slipped and fell, with some contact from Miller behind him.
Instead of going to Anthony, Mason`s pass was intercepted by Miller, who calmly turned, stepped behind the three-point line, and drilled the tying shot with just over 13 seconds left. While Miller`s incredible effort had tied the score, the Knicks got a reprieve when Starks was fouled by Pacers forward Sam Mitchell, earning Starks two free throws and a chance to give New York the lead. Starks, however, was visibly shaken by the recent turn of events. Jackson recalled watching Starks` eyes and realizing, `He wanted no parts of those foul shots.`
Starks` first free throw clanked off the back iron. His second hit the front of the rim. Ewing grabbed the rebound but missed his shot. The rebound was corralled by none other than Miller, who was fouled by Mason, the player who had just thrown the errant inbound pass. Miller, one of the best free-throw shooters in history, made both shots, completing his legendary eight points in a nine-second span. The Pacers` 107-105 win was sealed when the Knicks failed to get a shot off on their final possession.
Miller`s iconic performance foreshadowed the rest of the series, which went the full seven games. It came down to a final shot in the closing seconds of Game 7. Trailing by two points, the Knicks got the ball to Ewing, whose potential game-tying layup attempt bounced off the rim and fell harmlessly. While Ewing and his teammates dejectedly walked off the court, Miller and the Pacers celebrated at midcourt. It wasn`t a championship, but a Game 7 road victory against their fiercest rivals felt like the next best thing.
Jasper Hawthorne