It’s been a rough week for Knicks fans strolling down memory lane. First, The Last Dance documentary reminded everyone that Michael Jordan dominated the Bulls through that era.
Now comes the 25th anniversary of Reggie Miller ripping the heart our of Knicks fans scoring 8 points 9 seconds.
It was May 7, 1995, and the Knicks and Pacers were facing off in Game 1 of a second-round matchup. The host Knicks had the game in hand, up 105-99 with 18.7 seconds left. Then Reggie Miller went off with one of the signature highlights of his career, scoring 8 points in 9 seconds.
𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒹𝒶𝓎 25 years ago, @ReggieMillerTNT did the impossible 😎
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 7, 2020
"BOOM BABY" #8points9seconds pic.twitter.com/6GwWgdyUqu
The Pacers put together an oral history of that moment.
Reggie Miller: “I remember coming out of the timeout, I said, “Okay, if we get a quick three and cut the deficit down, anything is possible.” I knew they didn’t have any timeouts, so that kind of worked in our favor, but I don’t think they knew they didn’t have any timeouts left.”
“When I made the quick three, it was going to be a scramble situation. I saw Anthony Mason kind of leaning and tipping over the line. And he threw the best chest pass I’ve ever seen in my life, right to me. I knew immediately I easily could have gone in for the lay-in, but I said let me get back to the three and tie ‘er up and that’s what happened.
Pacers center Ric Smits: “It just happened so fast. We were almost in shock. Not that we didn’t think or know that Reggie was capable of something like that, he definitely was. But still, to see it happen...I probably was in just as much shock as the rest of Madison Square Garden. I’m just happy he was on our side that day.”
Pacers president Donnie Walsh: “I almost fell over. I mean that’s how improbable it was. And it’s probably one of the greatest finishes that our team’s ever been involved in.”