The NBA during the 1990s saw many intense rivalries. One of the biggest rivalries was between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks.
- Game 3 1999 Eastern Conference Finals: Larry Johnson’s 4-Point Play Buries Pacers
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From 1993 to 2000, the Pacers and the Knicks met six times in the NBA playoffs, including two series that went to seven games. The two teams split their playoff matchups 3-3 during that stretch.
There were many incredible and intense moments between the two teams. In their 1993 first-round series, Knicks guard John Starks famously head-butted Pacers star, Reggie Miller.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=makNdXK5oxc
In the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, Reggie Miller was involved in another innocent, this time with Knicks superfan and filmmaker Spike Lee. That’s the game where Miller scored 25 points in the fourth quarter in an epic 93-86 comeback win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YBB2Y-gldE
The very next season, in the Semifinals, Miller again was at the center of the highlights. 18.7 seconds remained in the game, and the Knicks led 105-99. Miller would go on to score 8 points in 8.9 seconds to deliver a 107-105 victory to the Pacers.
After two years of not facing each other in the playoffs, the two teams met in the Semifinals round in the 1998 playoffs. Miller, again, would deliver a clutch game-tying three-pointer with 5.1 seconds left in Game 4.
https://twitter.com/Writerfrey26/status/1549174530492473347
Miller scored 38 in the game as the Pacers finished the Knicks off in overtime with a 118-107 victory. The Pacers would go on to win the series 4-1.
The Pacers would win the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals matchup 4-2 against the Knicks to reach their first and only NBA Finals. Of course, the Pacers would meet the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals and lost 4-2.
Game 3 1999 Eastern Conference Finals: Larry Johnson’s 4-Point Play Buries Pacers
The final series that the Pacers and Knicks of the 90s to 2000 had faced against each other occurred during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 NBA season. The Pacers were the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference, with Michael Jordan now retired.
After the 50-game season ended, the Pacers finished the season tied with the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic for the best record in the East at 33-17. The Knicks, on the other hand, struggled and finished with a 27-23 record, which earned them the eighth seed in the playoffs.
The Pacers would earn the second seed in the playoffs, and they’d sweep the Milwaukee Bucks (3-0) and the Philadelphia 76ers (4-0) in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The Knicks would play the top-seeded Miami Heat and upset the Heat 3-2 in a Game 5 game-winner by guard Allan Houston.
The Knicks became only the second eighth seed to upset and defeat a number one seed team in the playoffs, and their success would continue into the Semifinals as they defeated the fourth seed Atlanta Hawks 4-0.
This set up another meeting between the Pacers and the Knicks, and once again, the two teams would meet in the Eastern Conference. At this point, no matter the success the Knicks were having in the playoffs, no one believed they could defeat the Pacers.
After Game 1, some opinions started to change. The Knicks rolled into Indiana and walked away with a 93-90 Game 1 victory. After the Pacers escaped with a narrow 88-86 victory in Game 2, the series shifted to New York, tied 1-1.
Game 3 is where the series shifted completely to the Knicks’ favor. The reason for this came from a controversial 4-point play at the end of the game.
There were only 11.9 seconds remaining on the clock in the fourth quarter. The Pacers held a comfortable 91-88 lead. All the Pacers had to do was to guard the three-point shot and try to end the game in a free throw contest.
Charlie Ward of the Knicks would be the player inbounding the ball. He attempted to pass the ball in, but Jalen Rose of the Pacers tipped the ball.
Luckily for the Knicks, Larry Johnson picked up the ball. Now, Johnson faced the basket as he stood behind the three-point line, with the Pacers’ Antonio Davis in front of him.
The clock continued to run as the fans in New York bit their nails. After a few fakes, Johnson took one big dribble, and he pulled up for a three.
As Johnson was going up for his shot, a whistle blew from referee Jess Kersey. The ball spun in the air, and the crowd held their breath…
The ball miraculously dropped through the hoop, and the crowd burst into a roar that’s probably still echoing throughout Madison Square Garden to this day. Johnson ran to the backcourt, where his teammates met him to celebrate.
“I had shooting on my brain from the start I got it,” Johnson would later say about his shot. “I was going to be the hero or I was going to be the villain. But I was going to shoot that ball.”
The Pacers players stood around in disbelief; they couldn’t believe what had just happened. On the replay, it did not look like Antonio Davis committed a foul. If there was a foul on the play, it should have been before the shot, meaning the basket would not have counted.
Instead, it was deemed a foul on the shot attempt, and Johnson’s made bucket tied the game at 91 with 5.7 seconds remaining in the game. Johnson stepped up to the line and calmly nailed the free throw, giving him 26 points in the game and completing what may be the greatest 4-point play in NBA history.
Now down 92-91, the Pacers had one more chance. As mentioned earlier, Reggie Miller had a history of making big shots in the playoffs, especially against the New York Knicks.
In this game, Miller would not add to his highlight reel. The Pacers could not get the ball into Miller, so Mark Jackson received the ball.
The Knicks players nearly stole the ball from Jackson, but he did recover to throw up a short jumper to win the game, but Jackson’s shot missed. The Knicks won Game 3 92-91 on Larry Johnson’s phantom foul call 4-point play.
The Knicks took a 2-1 series lead, and the momentum was clearly in their favor for the remainder of the series. The Pacers would bounce back and win Game 4 in New York, but the Knicks clearly seemed to be the better team in the series.
The Knicks would win Game 5 and Game 6 to clinch the series against the Pacers. After defeating the Pacers 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks became the first eighth seed to reach the NBA Finals.
The Knicks would finally be stopped by a young Tim Duncan and his San Antonio Spurs in the Finals. The Spurs won the series 4-1.
Despite losing the Finals, the Knicks’ playoff run was incredible, especially when you consider their star, Patrick Ewing, suffered a partial tear of his left Achilles tendon in Game 2 vs. the Pacers. This made Larry Johnson’s 4-point play even more spectacular, as the Knicks needed someone to step up with Ewing out, and Johnson answered the call.
The phantom foul on Johnson’s shot is still being talked about to this day. Many fans, mainly Pacers fans, speak out about the call, saying the NBA wanted New York in the Finals to help with ratings.
If you ask Knicks fans, the call was legit, and Johnson’s shot is one of the biggest in Knicks playoff history. For Knicks fans, they haven’t been able to celebrate much since Johnson’s shot, so reliving the phantom 4-point play is always a way for New York Knicks fans to experience joy.
