Tune in each day for the next three weeks to see where your
favorite, or should I say, least favorite game, ranks on my list.
Honorable Mentions:
1994 Eastern Conference First Round Game 3 Nets-Knicks
After easily winning the first two games at Madison Square
Garden, the Knicks lost their 5th straight game in New Jersey, an
overtime thriller in New Jersey 93-92. The Knicks were lethargic all game, trailing
by 10 after the first quarter and as much as 16 in the third. The Nets offense
collapsed, going 12 minutes and 15 seconds (including the final 9:35 of
regulation)[1],
without a field goal and only scoring 9 points in the fourth quarter. Patrick
Ewing made the game-saving play, blocking Kenny Anderson’s layup, with the
score tied at 83, which sent the game into overtime.
The lead seesawed in the final minute of overtime. John
Starks, for once in his Knick career, hit a big shot, a three, which gave the
Knicks a 90-89 lead with 1:04 left. The Nets answered; Armon
Gilliam’s dunk gave the Nets a 91-90 lead with 43.5 seconds left. Ewing hit a
turnaround jumper to give the Knicks a 92-91 lead with 20 seconds left. The
Knicks just needed one more stop to sweep the Nets. But Charles Oakley fouled
Chris Morris, who got away with a travel as he was penetrating to the basket.
Morris hit both free throws, which gave the Nets a one-point lead.
On the last possession, with a chance to win the
game, John Starks miraculously found himself wide open for a three pointer.
And of
course, he missed it….. and had a stupid dejected look on his face. Did
anyone with a brain, watching the game thought he would actually make that
shot?
…Of course not
…Of course not
1993 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals Game 3 vs. Hornets
The Knicks were supposed to breeze through the Charlotte
Hornets to set up the inevitable rematch against the Bulls in the Eastern
Conference Finals. But the Hornets had other plans. After winning the first two
games in Madison Square Garden, the Knicks faced off against the young
Charlotte Hornets in a double overtime thriller, Hornets fans still talk about
to this day.
Up six with a little less than four minutes left in the
game, the Knick had a chance to take an insurmountable 3-0 lead, but the
Hornets were inexplicably able to score on five straight possessions on
arguably the stingiest defense the league has ever seen. The Hornets had a
chance to win the game but Larry Johnson bricked a fallaway jumper.
…A few years later, he became a Knick and became one of the
most overrated Knicks of all time (because of this game),
bricking fallaway jumpers on a regular basis.
Anyways, in the
first overtime, the Knicks looked poised to take game 3; Ewing hit a couple of
jumpers to give the Knicks the lead. As the Knicks were looking to go up four
with about 40 seconds left, Ewing threw one of the laziest passes I’ve ever
seen. Had that been anyone else, he might have gotten cursed out, but since he
is the greatest player the franchise has ever seen, he deserves a pass. The
Knicks were still up two, but Alonzo Mourning was fouled with 12 seconds left
after grabbing his own rebound, and was able to hit both free throws. That’s
clutch!
You know who is not clutch?
You know who is not clutch?
..John Levell
Starks
Not only did he shoot 7-20 from the field, and had almost as
many turnovers as assists (Eight Assists, Seven Turnovers), but he allowed
Muggsy Bogues to strip the ball from him, as the Knicks were attempting to win
the game in the final seconds. How many times can one person fail, before he
ultimately succeeds?
Seriously, if John Starks never wore a Knick uniform, I’d
probably be a much happier person. Something tells me, his name will appear a
few more times on this list, before it’s done.
In the second overtime, Bogues did his best Walt “Clyde”
Frazier impression coming up with 393,223[2]
steals, while hitting the game winner jumper to give the Hornets a 108-106 lead
with 54 seconds left, and iced the game by hitting two clutch free throws with
six seconds left.
The Knicks won the next two games, albeit in tough fashion to
win the series 4-1, which set up a rematch with the Bulls in the Eastern
Conference Finals.
.. Yes that game will be
on this list, stay tuned. You know what f***n game I’m talking about…
1994 ECSF Game 3 Bulls-Knicks
After winning the first two games, the Knicks headed to
Chicago for a game three, which would be remembered for eternity.
This game is best known for Scottie Pippen refusing to get
off the bench during the final seconds of the game because his number wasn’t
called for the last shot. This game
negatively affected Pippen’s career, and is the main reason why he is one of
the most belittled stars in NBA history. But we’ll get to that later…
Even without the Pippen debacle this game was one of the
wildest games in the Knicks/Bulls rivalry. There was this fight, in front of
former NBA Commissioner David Stern and there was a Knick comeback for the
ages.
Well almost…
After blowing a
15-point lead in game one, and an eight-point lead in game two, the Bulls blew
another huge lead.
The Knicks were down as much as 22 points late in the third
quarter before making a historic comeback The Knicks outscored the Bulls 32-15.
Ewing led the comeback, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter (he finished
with 34) as Bulls coach, Phil Jackson, refused to double Ewing. It wouldn’t be
the first time, his basketball philosophies would
be questioned. In Phil we trust though, and I say that with the most
optimistic Knick fan voice imaginable.
After Ewing tied the game at 102, with a beautiful seven-foot
hook over Cartwright with about two seconds left, the Bulls called a timeout. Jackson created the potential game winning
play for Toni Kukoc instead of Pippen. Pippen had a terrible fourth quarter, only
making one field goal and failing to even get a shot off, causing a 24 second
violation late in the game. Kukoc also hit three game winners prior, so perhaps
that factored into Jackson’s thinking.
With Pippen sitting on the bench, Kukoc hit a tough shot to
win the game and the Bulls avoided a 0-3 series deficit.
Thank god (and Hue Hollins) the Knicks would eventually win
the series in seven games.
Up Next on The Knicks Most Painful Playoff Losses:
20.
2013 Game 6 ECSF vs. Indiana Pacers
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