14. 1992 Eastern Conference Semis Game 7 Knicks vs. Bulls

Even though he could not deliver a ring, Patrick Ewing is unquestionably the greatest Knick of all time.  The main reason why Ewing doesn’t have a ring?

The Goddamned Bulls and Michael Jordan….

After the Knicks were swept in 91 (remember Jordan did this to Ewing?), everyone predicted the Bulls would steamroll the Knicks again.  After all, the Bulls had beaten the Knicks 14 straight times, and had beaten the Knicks at home 17 straight times.

But after the Knicks stole Game 1, the Bulls found out the Knicks were not going to be pushovers. Both teams went back and forth, trading wins in a series so physical, the league would eventually be forced to change the rules.

And then Game 7 arrived…

Jordan completely dominated the Knicks.   He decided, with some advice from his father, he would not let the Bulls lose, and took over the game scoring 42 points. This was the first game I’ve ever watch where one player decided the game. I had never seen someone take control of the game like that before. Didn’t any of the Knicks have fathers who advised him to stop Jordan?

  
 It was at that moment I realized the Knicks would never be able to beat the Bulls as long as Jordan was on the court, which is the reason why this game makes the list. There is nothing more frustrating as a fan than watching one guy completely ruin your season, year after year.  No matter how good the Knicks were, they simply were not good enough.  For much of the 90s, thanks to the Bulls, I had the same feelings Andy Roddick had after he lost to Roger Federer in the 2009 Wimbledon Final. Jordan is definitely on the Mount Rushmore of my sporting villains (along with Reggie Miller, Aaron Rogers, and that god awful Tyler Hansbrough).   

The Knicks were crushed 110-81 and just like that, the season was over. The good news: The Knicks used this loss as motivation to form, perhaps the greatest Knick team in NBA history.

The bad news: The Knicks lost to the Bulls again, including a game that will certainly be on this list...

Up Next: 13. Game 7 1952 NBA Finals vs Minneapolis Lakers

15. 1999 NBA Finals Game 5 Knicks vs. Spurs

Let’s be honest, in hindsight, the Knicks were doomed the moment the NBA Finals began June 16^th, 1999.  The Spurs had the homecourt advantage. Patrick Ewing was out with an Achilles injury, and the guy who initially took Ewing’s spot (Chris Dudley), reminded me of Stinky Peterson from Hey Arnold.

But it didn’t matter; the Knicks would find a way somehow to win the title!

Well, let’s just say, things didn’t go according to plan. The Knicks lost three out of the first four games. The Knicks managed to win Game 3, 89-81, thanks to Latrell Sprewell (24 points) and Allan Houston (34 points).

Although no team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit[i], I still believed the Knicks were still going to win the series, before Game 5 began. The game was close throughout, my heart was beating at least 1,000 times per second.

 Avery Johnson, the same player who Damon Stoudamire ,infamously proclaimed, “Would never be a point guard on a championship team”,   hit a wide open corner jumper with 47 seconds left to give the Spurs a one point lead. After both teams exchanged empty possessions, the Knicks had the ball with two seconds left.  Sprewell got the ball and airballed a desperation turnaround jumper, which probably would not have counted anyways.

And that was it the Knicks lost 78-77… the game, and the series was over.

This game was painful for several reasons. Obviously, it’s always painful to lose a championship game, or series, especially during an extended championship drought.

(Cue to Mets fans nodding their heads)

But besides that, it was painful to watch Sprewell play the game of his life, and have nothing to show for it.   He finished the game with 35 points and 10 rebs, and literally carried the team on his back in the fourth quarter. This game is one of the reasons why he is one of the most beloved Knicks in franchise history.

It was also painful to watch Ewing wear that ugly grey suit , during the Knicks last timeout, when he should be playing.  This was perhaps Ewing’s, by far the greatest player in Knick history last chance at a ring and he couldn’t do anything but mercifully watch the Knick’s title hopes go up in flames.

 

But even though the Knicks had lost this series, fans, myself included of course, believed the Knicks would be back in the Finals. The Knicks were undermanned and still managed to put up a damn good fight against a great Spurs team.

Boy, were we wrong..

 

The Knicks haven’t been back to the Finals ever since. In fact, the Knicks would only win three playoff series in the next 15 years. While the Spurs would go on to become the model NBA franchise, winning four more titles during that same span.

 

 

 

Up Next: 14. 1992 Eastern Conference Semis Game 7 Knicks vs. Bulls

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

[i] No team still has not been able to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the Finals

16. Game 6 1969 NBA Eastern Division Finals Celtics vs. Knicks

Four straight Celtic games!!!!!

 

God I hate the Celtics…

 

When it comes to painful losses, this game never gets mentioned. To no fault of their own, Knicks fans do not have any recollection of this game whatsoever because there isn’t a plethora of NBA footage from the 60s.

 

The Knicks were favorited to win this series; they won six of the seven regular season meetings. But after going down 3-1 in the series, the Knicks managed to get a Pyrrhic eight point victory, as Walt Clyde Frazier suffered a groin injury in the final minute.

The injury hampered Frazier and the Celtics won game six , by one point,  and would go on to win the NBA Championship, defeating the Lakers in seven games.

 

“I took one look at Clyde and knew we were out of it.”

-Willis Reed

That quote says it all: Imagine if social media was around back then!

 

The good news: That loss, along with Bill Russell’s retirement, propelled the Knicks to win their first NBA title, which led to approximately 203,309,390 books about that historic team.

 

Up Next: 15. 1999 NBA Finals Game 5 Knicks vs. Spurs

 

 

 

 

17. Game 7 1984 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals Knicks vs. Celtics

 

Three straight Celtic games!

..I swear, the Celtics won’t keep appearing on this list.

 

1984 was a magical year for the Knicks; it was their best year since their championship year in ’73. Bernard King was a monster, averaging 26 pts on 57% shooting, finishing second in MVP voting.[1]

57%!!  Holy shit!  King was easily the best pure scorer  in Knick history.

Not only did he average 26 on 57% for the season, but he may have had the most dominant postseason in Knick history.  He turned it up a notch, scoring 35 points a night on 57% shooting. He averaged 43 points in the first round against the Pistons and leading his team to a series victory with 44 in the deciding game.

Too bad, there isn’t anything to show for his dominance. Just like Melo’s 42 against the Celtics in Game 2, this game was painful to watch. It’s always excruciating to see a great performance be wasted on a loss, ask LeBron James during his first stint with the Cavs.

The Knicks were massive underdogs in this series; the Celtics were the best team in the league, winning 62 games, and the Knicks were just a scrappy 45-win fifth seed, who needed every bounce to beat the Pistons in the previous round.

The Knicks never really had a chance in Game 7.  The home team had won every game of the series up to that point and the Celtics had won the previous home games in this series by an average of 18 points, while the Knicks squeaked out three close home victories.  Larry Bird had one of the greatest performances in a Game 7 in NBA history ,finishing the game with 39 pts, 12 rbs, and 10 assts.

Sure, the Knicks weren’t supposed to win, but the aftermath is the main reason why this game appears on this list.

Unfortunately, that’s as close as the King would ever get to a title. The next year, King blew out his knee, against the Kings and we never got to see the dominance of King in a Knick uniform again.

The good news is that the Knicks were “awarded” the first pick and selected Patrick Ewing, who became the greatest Knick of all time.

Too bad Ewing never won a ring and I have a sneaky suspicion you’ll see some of the reasons why later on this list….

 

Up Next: 16. Game 6 1969 NBA Eastern Division Finals Celtics vs. Knicks

 

---

[1] Larry Bird won the MVP and was amidst of one of the most dominant stretches in NBA History.

18. 2011 Game 2 Eastern Conference First Round vs. Boston Celtics

 

To be honest, it took me several hours to decide which of the first two games against the Celtics was more agonizing to watch.  After going back and forth with myself, I decided this game was more agonizing for one reason and one reason only:

Carmelo Anthony’s Performance

No, it didn’t match Jordan’s 63 against the Celtics in ’86, but it was still extraordinary.  It’s not hyperbole when I say it is the greatest Knick offensive performance in the playoffs I have ever seen. [i]

He finished with 42 Pts, 17 Rebs, literally carrying the entire team on his back, like Bernard King did back in ’84.

Where was Amare?  He finished with four points on 2-9 shooting. Let’s give him a break though, he did miss the second half due to back spasms he suffered doing a dunk before the game.  And like I mentioned in the previous game, Billups did not play due to a strained left knee and wouldn’t play another game in a Knicks uniform.

The Knicks lineup during crunch time consisted of: Carmelo Anthony, Toney Douglas, Jared Jeffries, Bill Walker, and Roger Mason.

Think about that for a second….

 

The Knicks still had a chance to win this game; Jeffries converted with 19 seconds left, putting the Knicks up by one. But Kevin Garnett hit a tough shot putting the Celtics back up one with 13 seconds left.  On the ensuing possession, Melo gets the ball, and passes it to a WIDE OPEN Jeffries, who inexplicably fumbles the pass and loses the ball out of bounds.  Of course, it should have been Amare down there, instead of Jeffries, but still, Jeffries is an NBA player (who led the Hoosiers to beat my Blue Devils back in 2002) and he should be able to at least attempt a shot. He had just made a more difficult layup 15 seconds earlier.

No one he was frequently booed during his tenure with the Knicks.

As a result of the play, the Celtics had the ball with about four seconds left.  Melo inexplicably forgets he has to foul Rajon Rondo and nearly lets time expire before fouling with .9 seconds left.

How the hell does he forget to foul in that situation? That play doesn’t negate Melo’s magnificent performance, but one can argue that is his career in a nutshell.

The Knicks lost 96-93, a game they should have won and because of that game, the Knicks were demoralized and ended up getting swept and being the only team who qualified for the playoffs, but didn’t win a game.

 

God, I hate the Celtics….

 

 

Up Next: 17. Game 7 1984 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals Knicks vs. Celtics

 

 

---

[i] I’m talking about from the 90s on, I wasn’t alive to witness King dominate in ’84.

Knicks Fall to Spurs

NEW YORK—The Knicks have improved, but they still have a ways to ago.

 After two days after beating the Wizards on Halloween, the Knicks put on a shoddy home performance , losing to the San Antonio Spurs, 94-84. LaMarcus Aldridge, who spurned the Knicks this summer, led the Spurs with 19 points

The victory by the Spurs gives future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, who finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, his NBA-record 954th victory with one team.

The Knicks started off strong, leading by three after the first quarter, but thanks to poor shot selection and costly turnovers by the Knicks, the Spurs took a ten point lead, midway through the second quarter, and never relinquished it. The Knicks were able to cut the Spurs’ lead to four on several occasions, but were never able to get any closer as the Spurs always seemed to get a timely basket whenever they needed one.

After averaging 113 points in the first three games, the Knicks offense tonight was nonexistent. The Knicks shot 36% from the field and was held without a field goal for seven minutes in the fourth quarter.

Carmelo Anthony, after scoring 37 against the Wizards, was harassed by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard, finishing the game with 19 points on just 4-17 shooting.

Rookie Kristaps Porzingis was very active tonight, finishing with 14 points and 13 rebounds, but appeared to injure himself from a collision with Carmelo Anthony, late in the fourth quarter. The X-rays of Kristaps Porzingis' neck were negative. He has a soft tissue injury and will continue to be evaluated according to Knicks beat writer, Frank Isola.  Porzingis said after the game, “I have stiffness in my neck. But it's nothing serious.”

The Knicks will look to bounce back Wednesday in Cleveland, against LeBron James and the  Cavaliers.