Reggie’s 25-point fourth
1994 Eastern Conference finals, game 5
Chronologically speaking, this was not the first moment from the 1994 playoffs that marked the beginning of a new era for the Pacers, but it’s the first on this list.
If the Pacers golden age was their ABA dominance from 1969-1975, then Indiana’s silver age began with the 1994 playoffs and rolled, roughly, through 2000.
But the silver age was off to a rough start in the Eastern Conference Finals, down 2-0 to the New York Knicks, the return trip to Manhattan and Madison Square Garden was ominous.
The Knicks were the most feared team in the East, and with Michael Jordan (temporarily) gone, they were the favorites to win the conference if not the championship too.
New York had a megastar in Patrick Ewing, plus his three henchmen — Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason and John Starks. They had the best home-court advantage in the league. The Pacers hadn’t won in the Garden in three years and were 1-15 in Reggie Miller’s Pacers career. Indiana entered the fourth quarter of game five trailing by 12, with Spike Lee chirping.
And chirping.
And chirping.
Then Reggie Miller happened. And happened. Three after three, shot after shot, with Miller chirping back at Lee all the while.
This was the choke-sign game, but more importantly, it marked the Pacers as a contender on the national stage. It also exorcized the specter that Madison Square Garden played in Indiana’s mind, and it laid the foundation for Reggie Miller to become one of the great clutch performers in NBA history.