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

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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.