The chase ofOJ Simpson broadcast live, and Pat Ewing's record performance with 8 blocks, this is what history remembers from June 17, 1994, the day of Game 5 between the Knicks and the Rockets.
In a series marked by intense defensive commitment on both sides, it was with a choice performance in this area that the New York pivot illuminated this fifth duel between the two teams. Two days after Derek Harper's 21 points and Charles Oakley's 20 rebounds which allowed the Knicks to tie the series at 2-2, the big Pat had that evening managed to contain his alter ego, Hakeem Olajuwon.
A reference match that remained without a future
If Hakeem “The Dream” shined in these finals that year, winning the title of MVP (27 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.9 blocks per game) at the end of a Game 7 at home (90-84) , Pat Ewing sealed a record that still stands today, with 30 blocks in an NBA final. Paradoxically, this Game 5, a benchmark match for Pat Riley's men, was a source of motivation for the Rockets before playing the last two matches of the series at home.
“They celebrated the victory as if the series was over,” will let go of Hakeem Olajuwonauthor of 8 lost balls that evening and dominated by Pat Ewing (21 points, 12 rebounds and 8 blocks) whose last two blocks of the evening, against him then Carl Herrera, had sealed the fate of the match.
The chase, “reality TV before its time”
This meeting was also marked by an extra-sporting incident since the broadcast of Game 5 was briefly interrupted by the chase between the Californian police and OJ Simpson, a few hours after he was reported missing and presented as the main suspect in the murder his wife Nicole Brown and his friend, Ron Goldman.
Located in a white Ford Bronco driven by one of his friends, Al Cowlings, OJ Simpson was spotted with a gun in his hand. The scene worthy of a Hollywood film is very real. “ “This is the weirdest TV broadcast I've ever been involved in.” will confide star presenter Marv Albert, former NFL field reporter and close friend of OJ Simpson. “It was like reality TV before its time.”
Before halftime of the match, NBC then juggled between images of the match and the chase of OJ Simpson. “There was no Twitter, no Instagram,” remembers Kenny Smith, the former Rockets point guard. “We were told in pieces what was happening. We saw the return of television on the scorer's table and the chase had already begun. There I shout from the bench, “Guys, OJ is on the run!” “In the middle of the NBA Finals, we found ourselves talking about OJ's chase…”.
And for good reason, the whole of America was shaken by this news item. And it took the performance of a great Pat Ewing not to completely obscure this Game 5 from history.
