On May 7, 1995, Indiana Pacers’
Reggie Miller put on one of the NBA’s most legendary performances,
scoring 8 points in 9 seconds against the New York Knicks to steal
a could-have-been win, putting them on the wrong side of
history.
It was a heartbreaking loss for
the Knicks, who lost Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals
at home in Madison Square Garden 107-105. New York already
eliminated the Pacers in 1993 and 1994 and coming into their
matchup, Indiana was raring to get back at them.
Miller first hit a three with
16.4 seconds to go, and then the Knicks’ Anthony Mason made a
costly mistake by inbounding the ball right into Miller’s hands.
Greg Anthony, who was supposed to receive the inbounds pass, had
slipped and it led to Miller hitting yet another three to tie the
game at 105.
The Knicks got the ball back and
had John Starks on the line to take back the lead, but he missed
his two free throws allowing the Pacers to get the ball back.
Miller sank two free throws and the Knicks could not get a shot off
in time as the buzzer sounded, therefore creating Miller’s ‘8
points in 9 seconds’ legend at the Garden.
After 29 years since that
heartbreak, luckily New York was on the other side of history this
time around.
On Monday night, New York faced
the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference round
1 clash. With 28 seconds to go and the Sixers up 5, Knicks point
guard Jalen Brunson drove into the thick of the defense only to
stumble and get stifled by Kyle Lowry and the Sixers’ defense.
Teammate Donte DiVincenzo got the ball in the middle of all the
action, choosing to back it out.
Brunson, who has been bothered
by Philadelphia’s defense and shooting just 8-29 all game long, got
up, relocated to the corner, and the ball eventually went his way.
He rose and did a step-back three move on Tyrese Maxey, and the
ball barely went down through the rim while bouncing high before
eventually dropping down as the Knicks cut the Sixers’ lead to just
two, 101-99.
Philadelphia tried to inbound
the ball cleanly to Maxey with 27 seconds left on the clock.
However, amidst the chaos and the tough defense by Brunson and Josh
Hart (with some arguable pushing and shoving and grabbing of
jerseys), Maxey slipped on the floor and could not get to the ball.
Hart got the steal and sent it right back to DiVincenzo trailing
for the three, only to miss.
In an intense series of events,
Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein was the first to the ball,
grabbing a huge offensive rebound to give another chance for the
Knicks. He kicked it out to OG Anunoby who kicked it right back to
DiVincenzo for another three. Splash. Nothing but net. The Knicks
now suddenly lead 102-101 with 13.1 seconds remaining, leaving the
Sixers befuddled on what just happened. Their 5-point lead suddenly
turned to a 1-point deficit in a blink of an eye.
In the next possession,
Philadelphia tried to get Maxey going downhill with a backscreen
from Embiid. He sprinted down the floor and blew by everybody for
the layup until Hartenstein made another big play by trailing down
and blocking Maxey’s shot, which sent the Garden into a frenzy.
Anunoby made two free throws following the play to extend the
Knicks’ lead 104-101.
The Sixers had one last shot at
it to tie the game but Embiid missed a three at the buzzer, giving
the Knicks one of its best wins in franchise history. A seemingly
hopeless situation turned into a blessing with a series of events
that will go down as one of the best moments in New York’s lore –
putting the team up 2-0 in their best-of-7 series going into
Philadelphia.
I didn’t take a single breath this entire
amazing sequence the Knicks took the lead to win the game pic.twitter.com/p62a9U2y1r– kevin o'Connor (@kevinoconnornba)
April 23, 2024
29 years ago, the Knicks
suffered heartbreak. But now 29 years later, they find vindication
in an eerily similar play to heal the hearts of the
past.
