Knicks find vindication in clutch time at the Garden after 29 years

On May 7, 1995, Indiana Pacers’Reggie Miller put on one of the NBA's most legendary performances,scoring 8 points in 9 seconds against the New York Knicks to steala could-have-been win, putting them on the wrong side ofhistory.

It was a heartbreaking loss forthe Knicks, who lost Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Finalsat home in Madison Square Garden 107-105. New York alreadyeliminated the Pacers in 1993 and 1994 and coming into theirmatchup, Indiana was raring to get back at them.

Miller first hit a three with16.4 seconds to go, and then the Knicks’ Anthony Mason made acostly mistake by inbounding the ball right into Miller’s hands.Greg Anthony, who was supposed to receive the inbounds pass, hadslipped and it led to Miller hitting yet another three to tie thegame at 105.

The Knicks got the ball back andhad John Starks on the line to take back the lead, but he missedhis two free throws allowing the Pacers to get the ball back.Miller sank two free throws and the Knicks could not get a shot offin time as the buzzer sounded, therefore creating Miller’s ‘8points in 9 seconds’ legend at the Garden.

After 29 years since thatheartbreak, luckily New York was on the other side of history thistime around.

On Monday night, New York facedthe Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference round1 clash. With 28 seconds to go and the Sixers up 5, Knicks pointguard Jalen Brunson drove into the thick of the defense only tostumble and get stifled by Kyle Lowry and the Sixers’ defense.Teammate Donte DiVincenzo got the ball in the middle of all theaction, choosing to back it out.

Brunson, who has been botheredby Philadelphia’s defense and shooting just 8-29 all game long, gotup, relocated to the corner, and the ball eventually went his way.He rose and did a step-back three move on Tyrese Maxey, and theball barely went down through the rim while bouncing high beforeeventually dropping down as the Knicks cut the Sixers’ lead to justtwo, 101-99.

Philadelphia tried to inboundthe ball cleanly to Maxey with 27 seconds left on the clock.However, amidst the chaos and the tough defense by Brunson and JoshHart (with some arguable pushing and shoving and grabbing ofjerseys), Maxey slipped on the floor and could not get to the ball.Hart got the steal and sent it right back to DiVincenzo trailingfor the three, only to miss.

In an intense series of events,Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein was the first to the ball,grabbing a huge offensive rebound to give another chance for theKnicks. He kicked it out to OG Anunoby who kicked it right back toDiVincenzo for another three. Splash. Nothing but net. The Knicksnow suddenly lead 102-101 with 13.1 seconds remaining, leaving theSixers befuddled on what just happened. Their 5-point lead suddenlyturned to a 1-point deficit in a blink of an eye.

In the next possession,Philadelphia tried to get Maxey going downhill with a backscreenfrom Embiid. He sprinted down the floor and blew by everybody forthe layup until Hartenstein made another big play by trailing downand blocking Maxey’s shot, which sent the Garden into a frenzy.Anunoby made two free throws following the play to extend theKnicks’ lead 104-101.

The Sixers had one last shot atit to tie the game but Embiid missed a three at the buzzer, givingthe Knicks one of its best wins in franchise history. A seeminglyhopeless situation turned into a blessing with a series of eventsthat will go down as one of the best moments in New York’s lore –putting the team up 2-0 in their best-of-7 series going intoPhiladelphia.

I didn't take a single breath this entireamazing sequence the Knicks took the lead to win the game pic.twitter.com/p62a9U2y1r

29 years ago, the Knickssuffered heartbreak. But now 29 years later, they find vindicationin an eerily similar play to heal the hearts of thepast.