What do Reggie Miller, Spike Lee, Reggie’s wife, and Mike Tyson all have in common? They combined to deliver basketball fans one of the greatest fourth quarters in NBA playoff history.
In today’s article, we’re going to be telling the story of how and why Reggie Miller scored 25 points in the fourth quarter of Game 5 during the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. It’s an interesting story that involves a famous filmmaker and a legendary boxer during the roughest time of his life.
A Bet Between Reggie Miller And Spike Lee
Let’s dive back to the 1990s, 1992 to be exact. Former boxing champion, Mike Tyson, was trying to earn back his title after he shockingly lost to Buster Douglas in 1990. Tyson battled back by defeating a few opponents and set up a matchup with then-champion Evander Holyfield.
Yes, we all know about the two fights between these boxing legends, especially the second one where Tyson took a bite out of Holyfield’s ear… Ouch! But did you know these two were scheduled to fight on November 8, 1991?
Yes, it’s true, but the fight would not happen for two reasons. For one, Tyson tore cartilage in his rib during training, which postponed the fight. Then, on February 10, 1992, Tyson was convicted on a rape charge and was sentenced to six years in an Indiana prison.
So, I bet you’re wondering what this has to do with Reggie Miller and basketball. The answer is… A lot. Stick around. The story is about to get interesting.
One of Mike Tyson’s biggest supporters at the time was filmmaker Spike Lee, who rose to fame with hit movies like Do The Right Thing and Malcolm X. On top of being a successful filmmaker, Spike was also a huge New York Knicks fan.
So, when the Indiana Pacers met up with the Knicks in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, you knew there was going to be some excitement. Why would a small-market team like the Pacers bring excitement to a series against New York? One word: Head-butt.
Yes, the previous season, in the first round of the playoffs, Knicks guard John Starks famously head-butted Reggie Miller in Game 3. This led to Starks’ teammate, Patrick Ewing, pushing and screaming at Starks, and that led to Starks’ mother threatening Ewing…
But I digress. Let’s move forward to the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. Tensions were high. Michael Jordan shockingly retired before the season, and the Knicks disposed of the three-time defending champions, Chicago Bulls, in seven games in the previous round.
New York was hungry to get back to its first NBA Finals since 1973. They sure weren’t going to let some team from Indiana get in their way. Right?
Well, after the first four games, the series was tied at 2-2, but Knicks fans weren’t too worried. Their team won both games in New York while dropping the first two in Indiana.
Game 5 was back in New York, and the Knicks were expected to win and take full control of the series. And you know who was going to be sitting courtside for the action, that’s right, Spike Lee.
Let’s dive back to Spike Lee for a minute. Lee and Pacers star, Reggie Miller, were friendly with each other, despite the newfound rivalry the Pacers and Knicks were having. Before the series started, Miller made an interesting bet with Spike.
The bet was this: If the Pacers win the series, Spike would have to put Miller’s then-wife, Marita Stavrou, in Spike’s next movie. If the Knicks win, Miller would have to visit Mike Tyson in his Indiana prison.
Wow, what a bet. We’re not saying Miller wasn’t a supporter of Tyson at the time, but to fail and not land your wife, who was a struggling actress at the time, a role in a Spike Lee joint could hurt his home life.
In Game 5, the Knicks were showing the Pacers why they were the superior team. New York led 70-58 after three quarters, and Miller, in particular, was struggling for Indiana.
Miller had scored just 14 points through three quarters on 6-17 shooting, including 1-6 from three. These weren’t good numbers, and Spike Lee was letting Miller know every trip down the floor and after every Miller missed shot.
This angered the Pacers star, and he decided to send a bold message to Spike. In the fourth quarter, Miller went bonkers, scoring 25 points on 7-9 shooting and 5-5 from three. Miller’s five made three-pointers tied a record for made threes in a quarter at the time.
After every make, Miller stared at Spike, talked trash, and straight-up taunted the filmmaker. This includes his famous “choke” sign, which he gave Spike.
For Spike, all he could do was watch with a dumbfounded expression on his face. The Pacers stormed back to take the game, winning 93-86, taking that commanding 3-2 lead in the series.
Miller proved why he was one of the greatest shooters the league has ever seen, but unfortunately for him and his Pacers, they couldn’t take advantage of their huge Game 5 victory.
The Knicks stormed into Indiana and won Game 6 to tie the series. Then, Patrick Ewing delivered a put-back dunk with 26.9 seconds left in Game 7 to help the Knicks escape with the 94–90 win and series victory.
The Pacers lost the series, which meant Miller’s wife lost her role in Spike’s next film. Miller and his wife divorced in 2001. Was it because he lost her a role in a Spike Lee film? We can’t say for sure.
Now, for Miller, he had to honor his side of the bet and visit Mike Tyson in prison. Miller’s visit, however, wouldn’t go exactly as planned.
Miller spoke about this on Jimmy Kimmel Live back in 2015.
(Miller’s quote starts at 4:14)
“We lost and I held up my end of the bargain. I actually went to the prison to visit Mike,” Miller told Kimmel. “I stayed in the waiting room for three hours thinking Mike was going to come out and we’re going to be behind the glass, we’re going to be picking up the phone, ‘Hey champ, what’s going on?’ The brother never came out!”
It’s funny to hear how Miller actually went to visit the ex-boxing champion in prison, and Tyson pulled the ultimate Tyson move by not coming out to greet the Pacers legend.
Spike Lee ended up being the ultimate winner in this bet, as he probably enjoyed the fact Tyson didn’t show up to meet Miller. Spike’s actions sitting in the stands led to one of the greatest playoff performances we’ve ever seen. So, for that, we thank you, Spike Lee.
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