Knicks vs. Pacers rivalry goes back to days of John Starks and Reggie Miller
The Knicks faced Indiana in the postseason six times in an eight-year span between 1993 and 2000 — with each team advancing three times, including both New York trips to the NBA Finals during that era.
BY PETER BOTTE / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
From John Starks’ headbutt to Reggie Miller’s choke sign to Larry Johnson’s four-point play, the Pacers emerged as every bit the rivals for the Knicks of the 1990s as Michael Jordan and the Bulls.
The Knicks faced Indiana in the postseason six times in an eight-year span between 1993 and 2000 — with each team advancing three times, including both New York trips to the NBA Finals during that era.
On the eve of the first playoff meeting between the franchises in 13 years, here are some of the most colorful memories from their joint playoff history.
1992-93
FIRST ROUND
Knicks win series 3-1
Pat Riley’s Knicks rolled into the playoffs as the top seed in the East with a 60-win regular season. Their first opponent was the upstart Pacers, who finished 41-41 to barely qualify as the No.8 seed. Patrick Ewing and the Knicks took the first two games at the Garden with little fanfare, Starks set the stage for the budding rivalry in Game 3, engaging in game-long trash-talk with Miller and earning an ejection for headbutting the Indiana guard during the Pacers’ lone victory in the series. The Knicks went on to defeat Charlotte in the next round before losing to the Bulls in the Conference finals.
1993-94
CONFERENCE FINALS
Knicks win series 4-3
With Jordan out of the NBA on a baseball sabbatical, this was viewed as the championship window for the Knicks — and they advanced to the Finals for the first time since 1973 before losing in seven-game heartbreaker against Houston. The Knicks dispatched the retooled Pacers, who added veterans Byron Scott and Antonio Davis that season, along the way, with Ewing sealing Game 7 with a putback slam in the closing seconds. The Knicks’ comeback to take the series was even sweeter because Miller fully established his villain status in New York - and his Knick Killer moniker — by scoring 25 points in the fourth quarter of Game 5 at MSG. The current TV analyst constantly jawed with Spike Lee along Celebrity Row, including flashing the infamous choke sign gesture at the famed director and Knicks fan. The Daily News even ran a front-page story the next day with the banner headline “Thanks a lot, Spike.”
1994-95
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
Pacers win series 4-3
With former Knick point guard Mark Jackson now running the offense in Indy, and with 7-4 center Rik Smits establishing himself as a viable inside option to complement Miller, the Pacers enacted some revenge one year later and raised the rivalry to another level. Miller once again was the central antagonist from the start, scored an amazing eight points in the final 19 seconds - including a three off a stolen inbounds pass - to steal Game 1 with a stunning 107-105 Pacers win. The Knicks evened the series on a Ewing bucket with 1.8 seconds left in Game 5 and a gritty road win in Game 6, but Ewing’s potential tying finger roll rimmed out as time expired in Game 7 in New York. Riley resigned a few weeks later.
1997-98
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
Pacers win series 4-1
With Jeff Van Gundy at the helm, the seven-seeded Knicks were heavy underdogs three years later, despite knocking off Riley and the favored Heat in the first round. Ewing missed the opener with a wrist injury and was hampered upon returning thereafter, although he did score 19 points in the Knicks’ lone win of the series in Game 3. Miller nailed a late three to force overtime in Indy’s Game 4 win before the Pacers, who also had Hall of Famer Chris Mullin as an important contributor that season, closed out the series in five.
Larry Johnson's four-point play in Game 3 of the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals propels Knicks to victory and eventually leads them to NBA Finals.
1998-99
CONFERENCE FINALS
Knicks win series 4-2
The Knicks, with newcomers Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby replacing staples Starks and Charles Oakley, went just 27-23 in the lockout-abridged regular season, squeaking into the playoffs as the final seed in the East. And that’s where the fun began. En route to becoming the first No. 8 squad to reach the Finals - which they lost to San Antonio - the Knicks ousted Indiana yet again. Ewing suffered an Achilles injury in a Game 2 loss and missed the rest of the playoffs. But the unlikely run was sparked by Larry Johnson’s improbable and controversial four-point play - a made three-pointer and a marginal foul called against Antonio Davis — with 5.7 seconds left for a 92-91 win in Game 3 at the Garden. Miller endured a rare brutal shooting night in the Knicks’ Game 6 clincher, scoring just eight points on 3-for-18 from the field.
1999-2000
CONFERENCE FINALS
Pacers win series 4-2
Miller and the Pacers made their lone trip to the NBA Finals in franchise history — before losing to the Lakers - and they fittingly downed the Knicks in six to get there. The No. 3 Knicks got past Toronto and Miami in the first two rounds, but their elimination by Indiana began the 13-year stretch without a playoff series win that finally ended Friday night in Boston. Miller poured in 17 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter of Game 6, Ewing’s final appearance in a Knicks uniform.
but anyone watching the fight? i got the henny on deck. but ya im picking mayweather to win 
. I remember when I was a Knicks fan and they played the Pacers and Reggie scored that quick 8. I left the house thinking they had it won 
. Went halfway down the block to meet my friend and asked if he watched the rest of the Knicks win. He said they lost. I thought he was trolling me until I saw the news and went 
