1994, 1995 and finally 2024. Three years for three Game 7s between Knicks and the Pacers in the playoffs. Before the “beautiful” of this Sunday evening (9:30 p.m.), each team won one and, each time, it was the legendary Madison Square Garden which was (and will be) the scene of this ultimate new York – Indianadecisive.
A first Game 7 for the Finals
In 1994, Knicks and Pacers faced each other in the conference final, barely a year after having already challenged each other in the first round of the 1993 playoffs (New York qualification in four rounds).
The series is bitter and contested, it is a real trench war, Indiana steals Game 5 at the Garden – the provocations of Spike Lee having helped – but misses a qualifying ball in Game 6 in Indianapolis, and everything therefore depends on Game 7.
It didn't take much for Patrick Ewing (24 points, 22 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 blocks) and others to defeat Reggie “Choke Sign” Miller's gang, at the end of the suspense. And thus reach the Finals, after a airball of “Uncle Reg” followed by a blatant, quite surprising. Unheard of for New York since… 1973!
Indy's Revenge
A year later, in 1995, we take the same ones (Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Charles Oakley, Derek Harper, Anthony Mason on one side; Reggie Miller, Rik Smits, Derrick McKey, Dale Davis, Antonio Davis from the other) and we start again, in a slightly different context.
This time, it is indeed at the conference semi-final stage that the Knicks and the Pacers cross swords. Here too, Reggie Miller's teammates take the upper hand and offer themselves not one, but two qualifying balls at the end of Game 4. Except that New York comes back from hell, with a game-winner by Patrick Ewing, and snatches a new Game 7.
The problem is that after his 8 points in nine seconds of Game 1, the “Knick Killer” (29 points) lived up to his nickname and took Indiana to the conference final, also in the last seconds, thanks to the final failure of “Big Pat” to equalize layup.
What about 2024?
Twenty-nine years later, the Knicks and the Pacers obviously no longer have anything to do with the teams of the mid-1990s, but they are in any case imitating their elders by pushing this conference semi-final until Game 7 .
A series where, until now, no one has won away from home, New York taking the lead despite its injuries (2-0 then 3-2), while Indiana has constantly come back to score in handles pressure well despite his inexperience.
To see if the invincibility of the franchise at home will continue, while historically, the teams at home have a record of 112-37 in Game 7 configuration (i.e. 75% success).
