Reggie Miller Had A Flashback Watching The Crazy Knicks-Sixers Finish

The New York Knicks entered the final 30 seconds of Game 2 against the Philadelphia 76ers trailing by five and with little in the way of positive momentum on offense. However, as has happened in Madison Square Garden before, lightning struck in the form of a chaotic, controversial sequence that saw the Knicks hit two threes in succession to take a 1-point lead.

We’ve seen a big three followed by a shaky inbounds play (involving some controversial contact) swing a game in that building before, but arguably the most famous time it happened came when the Knicks were on the losing end of Reggie Miller’s legendary 8 points in 9 seconds. This time around, it was New York scoring 8 points in 27 seconds, which isn’t quite as catchy, but was just as gut-wrenching for the other team.

Miller was watching the finish in New York at the broadcast table in Denver with Kevin Harlan and Jamal Crawford, getting ready to call the second game of TNT’s double-header between the Lakers and Nuggets (that saw a wild finish of its own). When I asked him about it, Miller roared with laughter and admitted that he found himself having a flashback while watching it all unfold.

“I will say this, my palms were a little sweaty,” Miller told DIME Tuesday morning over the phone. “Because we had the game on at our broadcast table, because we were obviously getting ready to come on the air in a matter of seconds. So we had the game on to see what was going to happen. And I’ve got to admit, my palms were sweaty. Yes, I did have a flashback.”

Very few people have firsthand experience in a moment like that, and as such, there was no one better to walk me through what he saw and how the Sixers could have and should have avoided it all after Brunson’s three.

“It is why I always tell people, and it’s a cautionary tale, this is why you play 48 minutes. Not 47:00, not 46:50, not 47:30. It’s why you play 48 full minutes, because anything is possible,” Miller said. “And I knew once Brunson hit the three to cut it to two. There were so many mistakes that Philadelphia made down the stretch. Number one, and I’m surprised, too, with Nick Nurse, a championship coach, and Kyle Lowry, a championship type player. Immediately it should have been a timeout. Number one, timeout, advance the ball, then you’re never in that situation. You have Kyle Lowry, one of the most sure-handed players in our game should have known that, but Nick Nurse should have really called it from the sideline. [Ed. Note: Nurse insists he tried, but video showed he pumpfaked a timeout before the inbound, then tried calling it after when Maxey was in trouble.]

“And then, once the ball is in, right? [The Knicks] don’t need a three, but you still gotta guard the three-point line. And, on top of that, offensive rebound. You know what it kind of reminded me of? The San Antonio-Miami game in the Finals where Ray [Allen] hit the three off the offensive rebound. That’s what it kind of reminded me of as well. Again, why you play 48 full minutes. And it’s thrilling to be in that situation.”

Miller’s even been on the other end of it as a visitor to MSG, with Larry Johnson’s 4-point play in Game 3 of the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals. As he notes, he loved how Joel Embiid was talking after the game, because while it’s going to hurt and it’s frustrating, the Sixers have to keep that belief up that they can win the series.

“And the guys talked about it, because Ernie asked the guys ‘How do you come back when you’re on the other side of that?’ Because I’ve been on the other side of that. Larry Johnson’s four-point play in that building,” Miller said. “So I’ve been on the other side of that, and it is a gut punch. It was Game 3 in that building when LJ hit the four-point play. We had to come back and we won that next game to tie the series up.

“So, if you’re Philly, yes, it hurts. Yes, that was a long plane ride back home. Yes, it will sting. But I love the comments by Joel [Embiid] last night, and that I’m seeing all on social. ‘We’re the better team. We’re gonna win this series.’ Because if it doesn’t come from him, if there’s any crack, if there’s any chink in the armor, New York is gonna run with it. So I love the vote of confidence coming from my best players. ‘Yes, we’re the best team. And yes, we’re gonna win the series. Yes, we made mistakes down the stretch. We’ve had leads in both games, double digit leads in both games. And we’ve blown it. … Alright, let’s pick ourselves off the deck. That was a standing eight count if this is boxing. The fight still goes on.’”

We’ll find out if the Sixers can indeed pick themselves up and get back into the series in Game 3, which TNT will broadcast on Thursday night.