Let’s be honest, in hindsight, the
Knicks were doomed the moment the NBA Finals began June 16th, 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
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