The Indiana Pacers have had three stars to lead their last three successful eras. The current face of the franchise, Tyrese Haliburton, was acquired in 2022 and has led the team to two consecutive conference finals. Before him, it was Paul George who went face to face with LeBron James on the Miami Heat. Far before either of them, however, was the Pacers’ leader in points, assists, and steals, Reggie Miller.
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No disrespect to Victor Oladipo, who made an all-NBA third team during the post-PG transition years, and Danny Granger, who dominated before George took over; those three define the three major eras of Pacers basketball.
Each of those eras is equally valid in its importance. The Pacers haven’t won a championship, but one of the times they came close was when Reggie Miller scored 8 points in 9 seconds in the 1995 Eastern Conference semifinals to secure a win over the Knicks. The moment turns 30 this year, and is still widely considered to be the franchise’s single greatest moment.
To set the stage, the Pacers had faced the New York Knicks in the Conference Finals the year before. Everyone remembers Miller’s infamous choke gesture directed at Spike Lee, but few remember that the Pacers went on to lose that series. The next year, the two teams matched up for the third time in as many years. In Game 1, the Pacers were down 105-99 with just 18.9 seconds remaining.
First, Miller made a three from the left wing, before stealing the inbounds pass meant for Kurt Thomas and making another three. Finally, after John Starks missed both free throws, Miller did what Starks couldn’t and iced the game at the line. This game, and this series that the Pacers would go on to win 4-2, cemented Reggie as the consummate Knicks villain.
In 2020, for the quarter-century anniversary of the moment, the Pacers did a throwback story on it. During the story, Miller spoke on how fans simply won’t let the moment fall out of history.
“I can’t believe it has been 25 years. It’s funny, but in today’s social media, with Twitter and Instagram or the “30 for 30, Winning Time,” you can’t forget. I get the video sent to me all the time. Fans, they keep the spirit alive like it just happened recently.”
Mark Jackson, the former Pacers point guard and Stephen Curry’s first coach on the Golden State Warriors, was focused on the animosity between Indiana and New York.
“If you asked us where could we win the game (against) that team in particular – would we prefer to do it in Indiana or at Madison Square Garden – we would have said Madison Square Garden,” Jackson said. “Because that team in particular, we had a bunch of players that their DNA was made up of wanting to do it in enemy territory.”
Now, 30 years later, the Pacers and Knicks are playing each other once again in the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 1, once again, was defined by late game shot making as the Pacers improbably stole the first game in Madison Square Garden. They followed it up with by going 2-0 on the road. Indiana fans are hoping that this series goes the same way the 1995 one did, with a hopefully better result in the Finals.
If Tyrese Haliburton can lead Indiana to a title this year, it would undoubtedly be the greatest moment in franchise history. His arcing, bouncing buzzer-beater would be remembered as the biggest shot in Pacers history. But, until that happens, the title of the single most amazing moment in a Pacers jersey will belong to Reggie Miller.
