Knicks History
knicks history
Bernard King, Knicks' Most Dominant Scorer
1983-85: King Rules Over NBA
In 1983-84 Bernard King, who had come over from the Golden State Warriors in a trade for Micheal Ray Richardson, set a club record for field goal percentage with a .572 mark. He had back-to-back 50-point games, on January 31 against the San Antonio Spurs and on February 1 against the Dallas Mavericks. For the season, King averaged 26.3 points, fifth best in the NBA.
The Knicks went 47-35 that year. Coach Brown guided the team to a memorable first-round playoff victory against Detroit. The teams swapped wins before New York took the decisive Game 5, 127-123, in overtime. King averaged 42.6 points in the series. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals the Knicks pushed the eventual NBA-champion Boston Celtics to seven games before succumbing. King was named to the All-NBA First Team, and Darrell Walker made the NBA All-Rookie Team.
In 1984-85 the 6-7 King became the first Knicks player to lead the league in scoring, with 32.9 points per game. His scoring average set a new team record, surpassing Richie Guerin's 29.5 in 1961-62. On Christmas Day, King set a club record by pouring in 60 points against New Jersey. From February 1 to March 23 he had 24 consecutive games of 20 or more points, a New York record at the time. He repeated as an All-NBA First Team selection.
Then on March 23 his season (and, many feared, his career) came to a crashing halt. In the season's 55th game at Kansas City, he crumpled to the floor with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He missed 24 months of action while enduring painful physical therapy and rehabilitation.
2006-08-02 22:32:06
Memories of Knicks' seasons in NBA Finals
1949-51: Knicks Reach First NBA Finals
Prior to the 1949-50 season the BAA merged with the National Basketball League to form the National Basketball Association. The BAA took in six teams from the NBL, bringing its total to 17, and went to a three-division format. New York remained in the Eastern Division.
The Knicks reached their first NBA Finals in 1950-51 despite backsliding to a 36-30 record and a third-place finish in the East. The season also brought more opportunities in the sport for minorities; New York had opened the door to one of the first African-American players in the league, 6-7 Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton.
In the playoffs New York got tough and dumped Boston and the Syracuse Nationals in the early rounds. Then the Knicks met the Rochester Royals in the Finals. Rochester won the first three games; New York stormed back to take the next three. The decisive game was a pitched battle. The score was tied at 75 apiece with 40 seconds left when Rochester's Bob Davies made two foul shots. The rules called for a jump ball after a successful free throw in the final three minutes of a game; the Royals controlled the tip, held the ball, and scored at the buzzer for a 79-75 victory.
1951-53: Those Darn Lakers
New York made three consecutive trips to the NBA Finals in the early 1950s. After being defeated by Rochester in their first grab for the ring in 1951, the Knicks went 37-29 in 1951-52 and played the Minneapolis Lakers for the title. The teams split the first six games, but the Lakers, hosting Game 7, rolled over New York for the crown.
The 1952-53 Knicks had a stellar season, going 47-23. They got off to a blazing start but cooled off toward the end of the year when various injuries dogged the lineup. In a rematch of the previous year's Finals, they lost to the Minneapolis Lakers and George Mikan in five games.
1969-70: Reed's Heroics Lead Knicks To Championship
In 1969-70 the Knicks won 60 regular-season games for the first time, including a then NBA-record 18-game winning streak from October 24 through November 28. They started at 9-1 and never looked back. New York built its success on pressure defense and a selfless passing game.
Reed, Frazier, and DeBusschere played in the NBA All-Star Game, with Reed earning the game's Most Valuable Player Award. Despite a slight fade to 6-7 over the final weeks of the season, New York finished with a 60-22 record and the Eastern Division crown.
In the playoffs New York defeated Baltimore in seven games and bounced the Milwaukee Bucks in five. The NBA Finals pitted the Knicks against a Los Angeles Lakers team led by Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain. The games were filled with drama as the teams traded victories. The two clubs split Games 3 and 4, both of which went to overtime.
The seventh contest, on May 8, provided one of the most stirring moments in NBA history. Reed, the Knicks' captain and center, had injured his leg in Game 5 and had sat out Game 6 as the Lakers won easily, 135-113. He was not expected to play again during the series, and his absence seemed certain to doom the Knicks. Instead, Reed limped onto the court at the last minute before the Game 7 tipoff, started the game, made the first two baskets, and provided the dose of adrenaline that his teammates needed. Frazier scored 36 points, handed out 19 assists, and was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line. The Knicks beat the Lakers, 113-99, for the title.
Reed was the regular-season NBA Most Valuable Player, the All-Star Game MVP, and the Finals MVP. Reed and Frazier were selected to the All-NBA First Team, the first Knicks to earn the honor since Harry Gallatin did so in 1953-54. Red Holzman was named NBA Coach of the Year. But the key to the Knicks' success was teamwork.
1970-72: Stars Of The Seventies
Walt Frazier, a 6-4 guard out of Southern Illinois who had been the fifth pick in the 1967 NBA Draft, was the Knicks' stylish floor general. He was considered the best on-the-ball defender of the time. A seven-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA selection, he retired as the Knicks' all-time leader in games played (759), minutes (28,995), assists (4,791), and points (14,617, a mark later surpassed by Patrick Ewing).
Frazier averaged 19.3 points over his 10 seasons with New York. Although he finished his career in Cleveland in 1980, the Knicks retired his uniform No. 10 in 1979. Frazier was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1986.
Dick Barnett, at 6-4, was known for his unique jump shot, in which he contorted his body into a question-mark shape and leaned back at a seemingly impossible angle before releasing the ball. He spent his first five NBA seasons with Syracuse and Los Angeles, before being acquired by New York in 1965. He averaged 15.6 points in nine years with the Knicks. The team retired his uniform No. 12 in 1990.
Willis Reed was the backbone of the Knicks' championship teams. The 6-10, 240-pound Grambling graduate played 10 seasons in New York, appearing in seven All-Star Games. He was Rookie of the Year in 1964-65, NBA MVP in 1969-70, and Finals MVP in both 1970 and 1973. When he retired, he was the club's all-time leader in rebounds (8,414) and points (12,183, since surpassed by Walt Frazier and Ewing). He averaged 18.7 points during his career. In 1976 the Knicks retired Reed's uniform No. 19, making him the club's first player to be so honored. He coached the team for 11/2 years during the late 1970s and later became an executive with the New Jersey Nets. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1981.
Dave DeBusschere, at 6-6 and 235 pounds, was a workmanlike player who provided the final ingredient in the Knicks' championship mix when he was acquired from the Pistons in 1968-69. He earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors six times for New York and played in five NBA All-Star Games as a Knick (and eight overall). After his 12-year playing career DeBusschere filled executive roles for the Nets and the Knicks and served as commissioner of the American Basketball Association. The Knicks retired his uniform No. 22 in 1981, and the next year he was elected to the Hall of Fame.
Bill Bradley entered the NBA in 1967 following a legendary collegiate career at Princeton. The 6-5 college center became a guard-forward in the NBA and played with the Knicks for all 10 of his pro seasons. He was known as an unspectacular but intelligent player.
Bradley was smart off the court, too-he had been a Rhodes Scholar in college and later had a successful second career as a U.S. senator from New Jersey. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982, and two years later the Knicks retired his uniform No. 24.
New York fell off to 52-30 in the 1970-71 season, which was still good enough for first place in the newly formed Atlantic Division. The club started hot, at 31-11, then hovered around .500 for the final three months of the year. On February 2 Reed tied Harry Gallatin's all-time club record by hauling in 33 rebounds in a game against the Cincinnati Royals. Reed, Frazier, and DeBusschere all played in the All-Star Game, Reed and Frazier as starters.
The Knicks beat Atlanta in five games in the opening round of the playoffs, then fell to Baltimore in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 7 ended with a two-point Bullets win at Madison Square Garden.
Three games into the 1971-72 season the Knicks, sensing a need for offensive creativity, acquired 6-3 guard Earl "the Pearl" Monroe from Baltimore in a trade for solid backup players Mike Riordan and Dave Stallworth.
Monroe was a consummate showman, a flashy ballhandler, and an imaginative shotmaker. He popularized the reverse-spin move on the dribble. After four seasons in Baltimore he spent nine with New York; he averaged 16.2 points as a Knick and made two All-Star appearances. When he retired in 1980, Monroe ranked fifth (and is currently sixth) on the Knicks' career scoring list with 9,679 points. The team retired his uniform No. 15 in 1986, and he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1989.
Monroe's initial effect on the team was disruptive. He was not able to modify his game easily, so his teammates had to adjust, and New York slipped to 48-34 in 1971-72. After a shaky start the Knicks began to come together again, winning 12 of 17 games in February, and in the playoffs they easily handled Baltimore and Boston. In the Finals against Los Angeles, New York won the opening game, 114-92, at the Forum but then lost four straight to the Lakers.
Walt Frazier and Dave DeBusschere led New York's stifling defense, which allowed only 104.7 points per game, third best in the league. Both players were rewarded by being named to the All-Defensive First Team at season's end. Frazier was also selected to the All-NBA First Team.
1972-76: First A Title, Then A Decline
The 1972-1973 Knicks won another NBA title. They finished the regular season with a 57-25 record, second in the Atlantic Division to the blazing Boston Celtics, who were 68-14. New York ripped through the first four months of the campaign, compiling a 43-13 mark before cooling off at season's end. The Knicks eliminated Baltimore and Boston in the early rounds of the playoffs, then for the third time in four seasons faced the Lakers in the NBA Finals. In a reversal of the previous season's outcome, the Knicks lost Game 1, then won four straight. They claimed their second NBA championship with a 102-93 victory in Game 5.
Led by the pressure and ball-hawking of Frazier, New York yielded only 98.2 points per game, the stingiest mark in the league. Bill Bradley set a new team record for free throw percentage, which he would surpass in each of the next four seasons.
-94: The New Beasts Of The East
When Michael Jordan announced before the 1993-94 season that he was retiring from the NBA, the mantle of Eastern Conference favorite fell squarely onto the shoulders of the Knicks, who for four straight years had been unable to get past the Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.
As it turned out, the Knicks were the "beasts of the East." They topped the Atlantic Division with 57 wins on the strength of a defense that allowed an average of 91.5 points per game, the fourth-lowest total in the 40 years that the 24-second shot clock had been in use. Patrick Ewing was a major force with an average of 24.5 points per contest (sixth in the NBA), and Charles Oakley snared 11.8 rebounds per game (seventh in the league).
The Knicks suffered a setback in December when starting point guard Doc Rivers was lost for the season with a knee injury, but they averted disaster with the subsequent acquisition of Derek Harper from the Dallas Mavericks. At midseason Ewing and John Starks represented the Knicks at the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, Starks for the first time in his career.
In the playoffs New York defeated the New Jersey Nets in four games to set up a rematch with the Bulls in the conference semifinals. This time the Knicks prevailed, four games to three, and then needed seven games to drop the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The NBA Finals pitted New York against the Houston Rockets in a bruising series in which neither team cracked 100 points in a single game. Harper practically won two games for the Knicks single-handedly, but the club's offensive woes eventually proved its undoing. The series went the limit, with the Rockets triumphing in Game 7 to claim the title.
1998-99: Unforgettable Run to the Finals
The Knicks made two big trades, yet they barely made the playoffs. While there, they lost their captain to an injury. And they still found a way to become the first No. 8 seed in history to reach the NBA Finals.
Two weeks before the season, New York acquired Latrell Sprewell from Golden State for John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings. Months earlier, the Knicks got Marcus Camby in a deal that sent Charles Oakley to Toronto. After all the changes, the rotation took time to form and New York stumbled to a 27-23 record in the regular season. From then on, it was a different story.
New York was matched against top-seeded Miami in the first round. The series went to a deciding Game 5, won by the Knicks on Allan Houston's running one-hander with 0.8 seconds to play. The game-winner bounced off both the rim and backboard before dropping through.
New York swept Atlanta in the second round as Camby emerged as one of the most exciting players of the 1999 playoffs. Camby's playing time was erratic for most of the season, but there was no holding him back after he notched 11 points and 13 rebounds in Game 2 of the Atlanta series. For the remainder of the postseason, his rebounding, shot-blocking and highlight dunks energized the Knicks.
Patrick Ewing's season ended after Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against Indiana. The Knicks captain had been playing despite a painful Achilles injury, but was relegated to the sideline after doctors discovered the tendon was partially torn.
The Knicks needed a magic moment in Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, and they got it when Larry Johnson broke a 1-1 series tie with his game-winning four-point play. New York clinched in Game 6 despite losing Johnson to a knee injury in the first half. He was able to play in the Finals against San Antonio, but the injury limited his mobility.
Despite Sprewell's 35 points and 10 rebounds in Game 5, the Spurs wrapped up the title with a 78-77 victory. Sprewell (26.0 ppg) and Houston (21.6) formed a high-scoring duo in the Finals, but the Knicks missed Ewing in the paint and were no match for San Antonio's Twin Towers, Tim Duncan and David Robinson.
2006-08-02 22:24:50
Knicks' sell out streak into new century
The New York Knicks’ run of 433 consecutive regular season and Playoff sellouts – the fifth-longest sellout streak in NBA history -- spanned nearly a full decade. It encompassed nine trips to the NBA Playoffs, four Conference Finals, two Eastern Conference Championships and six NBA Finals games. For the record, the Knicks went a combined 308-125 (.711) in those 433 games. . .266-107 in the regular season and 42-18 in the Playoffs.
But those are just numbers. What the Sellout Streak really meant was an affirmation of love – on almost a nightly basis – between a city and its team. Between the place that honors The City Game above all others and an ever-evolving cast that delivered the goods almost every time out.
On the game’s greatest stage, the Streak was the backdrop for one of the longest sustained periods of success that any team in this game’s history has ever had. And it’ll be a long time before we see a team – any team, in any sport – put together something like it again.
Nineteen-seven-six-three, times 433, equaled a million memories. Here are some of the best. . .
SELLOUT NO. 1
FEBRUARY 4, 1993
The Sellout Streak begins on a winning note as John Starks (30 pts) and Charles Smith (20) key a 105-101 victory over Golden State.
SELLOUT NO. 20
APRIL 30, 1993
The decade-long Knicks-Pacers Playoff saga begins as New York wins Game One of the ’93 first round, 107-104, the first-ever post-season meeting between the two teams. . .Ewing scores 25 points, while Charles Smith adds 24. . .Reggie Miller scores 32 points, only the first chapter in his long list of heroics against the Knicks. . .New York wins the series in four games.
SELLOUT NO. 26
MAY 25, 1993
In the final minute of Game Two of the East Finals against Chicago, John Starks authors perhaps the single most famous play in Knicks history, splitting the Bulls defense for “The Dunk”, a driving, lefthanded tomahawk slam that sends the Garden into a frenzy. The play, coming with 47.3 seconds left, gives the Knicks a five-point lead in their eventual 96-91 win. . .Knicks take a 2-0 series lead, but would fall to the Bulls in six games.
SELLOUT NO. 36
DECEMBER 14, 1993
Pizza Time! Knicks hold the opposition under 85 points, beating Denver 93-84, resulting in Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas for everyone in the sellout crowd. . .Nuggets’ Darnell Mee misses two free throws with 5.1 seconds left, sending the soon-to-be-well-fed Garden crowd into a frenzy.
SELLOUT NO. 37
DECEMBER 16, 1993
Ewing becomes the all-time leading Knicks scorer, passing Walt Frazier with his 14,618th career point in a 108-85 win over the Lakers. . .Minutes later, Doc Rivers suffers a torn ACL of the left knee driving to the basket against Vlade Divac, an injury that would end his season.
SELLOUT NO. 63
APRIL 2, 1994
Knicks cap a 15-game winning streak with a 110-87 triumph over Miami.
SELLOUT NO. 68
APRIL 21, 1994
Knicks rout Philadelphia, 130-82, tying a club record for their biggest-ever margin of victory (48 points).
SELLOUT NO. 73
MAY 18, 1994
Hubert Davis’ two free throws -- the result of a disputed foul called on Scottie Pippen with just 2.1 seconds left -- lift the Knicks to an 87-86 win over Chicago in Game Five of the East Semis.
SELLOUT NO. 74
MAY 22, 1994
Knicks end the three-year championship reign of the Chicago Bulls with an 87-77 win in Game Seven of the East Semis. . .Ewing shakes off a scoreless first half to score 18 points in the second half, including a clutch three-point bomb that gives the Knicks a 10-point lead with 6:01 left. . .Charles Oakley adds 17 points and 20 rebounds.
SELLOUT NO. 77
JUNE 1, 1994
In one of the most unforgettable Playoff performances in Garden history, Reggie Miller scores 25 of his game-high 39 points in the fourth quarter, singlehandedly wiping out a double-digit Knicks lead and giving Indiana a 93-86 win in Game Five of the East Finals. . .and a 3-2 lead in the series.
SELLOUT NO. 78
JUNE 5, 1994
Knicks earn their first trip to the NBA Finals in 21 years, defeating Indiana 94-90 in Game Seven of the East Finals. . .Ewing (24 points, 22 rebounds) authors the game’s key play, a followup, two-handed slam of Starks’ missed layup, to give NY the lead for good with 26.9 seconds left. . .Four days after his Game Five heroics, Miller misses on a potential game-winning jumper in the final seconds, then commits a controversial flagrant foul on Starks to all but send the Knicks into the Finals.
SELLOUT NOS. 79, 80, 81
JUNE 12, 15, 17, 1994
The World’s Most Famous Arena hosts The NBA Finals for the first time in 21 years, as the Knicks take on Houston in Games Three, Four and Five during an unforgettable week. . .Sam Cassell’s three-point bomb with 32 seconds left gives the Rockets a 93-89 win in Game Three. . .In Game Four – with the scent of Garden champagne still fresh after the Rangers’ Stanley Cup triumph 24 hours before – Derek Harper scores 21 points while Oakley hauls in 20 rebounds in a 91-82 Knicks win. . .Ewing chalks up 25 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks as Knicks take a 3-2 series lead with a 91-84 Game Five triumph, while a nation is spellbound by the infamous O.J. Simpson car chase. . .Just one win away from their first NBA title since 1973, the Knicks’ dreams would shatter with two losses in Houston.
SELLOUT NO. 115
MARCH 28, 1995
The Double Nickel Game. . .Two weeks after returning to basketball, Chicago’s Michael Jordan scores 55 points to lead Bulls to a 113-111 win over the Knicks.
SELLOUT NO. 125
MAY 7, 1995
Reggie Miller stuns the Garden crowd by scoring eight points in the game’s final 16.4 seconds (two 3PT FG, two FTM), wiping a six-point Knicks lead and giving the Pacers a 107-105 win in the opening game of the East Semis.
SELLOUT NO. 128
MAY 21, 1995
Knicks’ attempt to rally all the way back from a 1-3 deficit in games falls just short, as they lose the deciding seventh game of the East Semis in heartbreaking fashion to Indiana, 97-95. . .Ewing notches 29 points, but misses on a last-second close-in finger roll that would have sent the game into OT. . .It’s Pat Riley’s last game as Knicks head coach, after leading the team to four straight 50+ win seasons, two Atlantic Division titles and the 1994 Eastern Conference Championship.
SELLOUT NO. 133
NOVEMBER 25, 1995
Knicks unveil new alternate blue-and-black road uniforms before Garden crowd in 103-88 win over Houston.
SELLOUT NO. 141
DECEMBER 19, 1995
Pat Riley returns to the Garden with his Miami Heat, and the Knicks greet their former coach with an 89-70 victory.
SELLOUT NO. 160
MARCH 10, 1996
Two days after replacing Don Nelson, Jeff Van Gundy notches his first win as Knicks head coach as NY stuns the Bulls, 104-72, just the Bulls’ seventh loss in their first 61 games.
SELLOUT NO. 165
APRIL 8, 1996
In a rare “workday afternoon start” (Monday at 12:30 p.m.), Knicks lose to Seattle, 108-98, in the replay of a snowed-out game of January 7.
SELLOUT NO. 169
APRIL 19, 1996
Ewing’s only career triple-double (28 pts, 11 ast, 15 reb) goes for naught as Knicks lose to Charlotte, 115-108.
SELLOUT NO. 171
MAY 11, 1996
Starks’ 30 points and Ewing’s 22 help overcome a 46-point performance by Michael Jordan as Knicks defeat Bulls in overtime, 102-99 in Game Three of the East Semis, New York’s only win of the series.
SELLOUT NO. 192
JANUARY 11, 1997
In the New York half of a nostalgia-laden “Throwback Weekend”, Knicks defeat Boston 112-99, one of the many highlights’ of the Knicks’ 50th Anniversary season.
SELLOUT NO. 200
FEBRUARY 16, 1997
Knicks rebound from a 19-point deficit to defeat Indiana, 89-80. . .Knicks hold Pacers to just 1-for-15 FGA (14 pts) in the fourth quarter.
SELLOUT NO. 201
FEBRUARY 18, 1997
Starks’ last-ditch three-point bomb at the buzzer gives the Knicks a heart-stopping 95-94 win over Phoenix.
SELLOUT NO. 216
MAY 11, 1997
Ewing’s block on Tim Hardaway’s last-second three-pointer nails down a 77-73 win over Miami in Game Three of the East Semis, and helps lift Knicks to a 3-1 series lead.
SELLOUT NO. 218
MAY 16, 1997
The “Nine Men, One Mission” Game. . .Playing shorthanded after the brawl-marred Game Five in Miami, Knicks ride the emotional lift of a raucous and deafening Garden house, and lead virtually the entire way until midway through the fourth quarter. . .But Miami, led by Alonzo Mourning’s 28 points, outlasts Knicks 95-90 in Game Six of East Semis, en route to a seven-game series win.
SELLOUT NO. 239
JANUARY 29, 1998
Starks nails a club record nine three-point field goals, including 6-for-6 from Downtown in the second quarter, but Knicks lose to Milwaukee in OT, 115-112. . .Violet Palmer becomes the first woman to officiate a Knicks game.
SELLOUT NO. 248
MARCH 8, 1998
Michael Jordan – wearing a 14-year old pair of 1984 model Air Jordans – pours in 42 points in a 102-89 Bulls win, in his final Garden game. . .or so we thought at the time.
SELLOUT NO. 261
APRIL 30, 1998
Allan Houston and Larry Johnson each score 18 points as Knicks stay alive in the first Playoff round with a 90-85 Game Four win over Miami, a contest marred by an LJ-Mourning altercation in the final seconds that leaves the lasting image of coach Van Gundy clinging to Zo’s leg. . .Knicks would clinch the series in Miami three days later.
SELLOUT NO. 268
FEBRUARY 21, 1999
Knicks hold Bulls to just 63 points – the lowest opposition point total vs. NY since the inception of the shot clock – in a 79-63 win.
SELLOUT NO. 287
MAY 3, 1999
In the next-to-last game of the lockout-shortened season, Knicks nail down the East’s eighth and final Playoff berth with a 95-88 win over Boston, setting the stage for The Wild Ride of ’99.
SELLOUT NO. 292
MAY 24, 1999
Knicks wrap up just the second four-game Playoff sweep in their history with a decisive 79-66 win over Atlanta in Game Four of the East Semis. . .Hawks’ 66 points are the fewest ever allowed by the Knicks in a post-clock Playoff game. . .Garden crowd salutes Knicks’ pilot with chants of “Jeff-Van-Gun-dy” in game’s closing moments.
SELLOUT NO. 293
JUNE 5, 1999
Larry Johnson’s first career four-point play (3PT FGM, fouled by Antonio Davis, FTM), with 5.7 seconds left, echoes throughout the basketball world and gives the Knicks a 92-91 win over Indiana in Game Three of the East Finals.
SELLOUT NO. 295
JUNE 11, 1999
Knicks become the first eighth-seeded team in NBA history to win a conference title, defeating Indiana 90-82 in Game Six of the East Finals to earn their second Eastern Conference Championship in the decade of the ‘90s. . .Houston leads the way with 32 points, while Sprewell adds 20.
SELLOUT NOS. 296, 297, 298
JUNE 21, 23, 25, 1999
The Garden hosts The NBA Finals for the second time in the 1990s as the Knicks take on San Antonio in Games Three, Four and Five. . .Houston scores 34 in an 89-81 win in Game Three, the Knicks’ only victory of the series. . .Despite a virtuoso performance by Sprewell (35 points, 25 in the second half), Knicks lose the fifth and final game to Spurs, 78-77, ending one of the most memorable Playoff runs in club history.
SELLOUT NO. 302
NOVEMBER 27, 1999
Houston and Sprewell each score 30 points – becoming the Knicks’ first 30-30 duo in more than five years – in a 99-96 win over Orlando.
SELLOUT NO. 341
APRIL 26, 2000
Sprewell spearheads Knicks’ comeback from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit with a game-winning pullup jumper with 7.9 seconds left, giving NY an 84-83 over Toronto in Game Two of the first Playoff round and keying a three-game sweep of the Raptors.
SELLOUT NO. 344
MAY 19, 2000
With their season on the verge of extinction, Knicks rally from an 18-point deficit to defeat Miami, 72-70 in Game Six of the East Semis, knotting the series at 3-3. . .Houston scores 21, nailing two free throws with 17.6 seconds left to give NY the lead for good. . .Knicks hang on as Anthony Carter’s potential series-winning three-pointer misses at the buzzer. . .Knicks would win the series two days later in Game Seven at Miami.
SELLOUT NO. 347
JUNE 2, 2000
Another vintage Reggie Miller performance – 34 points, including 5-for-7 from Downtown – lifts the Indiana Pacers to their first Eastern Conference Championship with a 93-80 win over the Knicks in Game Six of the East Finals. . .Ewing scores 18 points with 12 rebounds in the final game of his fabulous 15-year Knicks career.
SELLOUT NO. 359
DECEMBER 15, 2000
Knicks can only muster 58 points – their lowest post-shot clock total ever – in a mind-boggling 89-58 loss to Utah.
SELLOUT NO. 360
DECEMBER 17, 2000
Erick Strickland’s three-point bomb with 0.6 seconds left caps an 11-1 run in regulation, then Knicks go on to defeat Milwaukee in overtime, 100-97.
SELLOUT NO. 364
JANUARY 7, 2001
Knicks tie a post-clock NBA record by holding the opposition under 100 points for the 28th straight game, beating Washington 103-87. . .Streak would eventually reach a record 33 games.
SELLOUT NO. 367
JANUARY 15, 2001
A 104-82 win over San Antonio is marred by a fourth-quarter altercation between Camby and the Spurs’ Danny Ferry, which results in Van Gundy taking 12-15 stitches to his forehead and a five-game suspension for Camby.
SELLOUT NO. 376
FEBRUARY 27, 2001
Patrick Ewing receives a three-minute standing ovation in his first Garden appearance since the September 2000 trade that ended his brilliant Knicks career. . .Patrick turns in a 12-point, five-rebound effort, but Knicks beat Seattle, 101-92.
SELLOUT NO. 377
MARCH 1, 2001
Jeff Van Gundy becomes the third-winningest coach in Knicks history, racking up win no. 224 to move ahead of Pat Riley as Knicks defeat Celtics, 95-88.
SELLOUT NO. 385
APRIL 5, 2001
Garden’s home radio booth is dedicated in memory of original Knicks voice Marty Glickman during halftime of a 93-80 win over Washington.
SELLOUT NO. 391
MAY 4, 2001
Vince Carter scores 27 points as Toronto wins the fifth and deciding game of the first-round Playoff series, 93-89. . .Eliminated in the first round for the first time since 1991, it’s the final game of the Knicks’ electrifying 14-year Playoff run.
SELLOUT NO. 392
OCTOBER 30, 2001
Before a worldwide media contingent, Knicks defeat Washington, 93-91, and spoil Michael Jordan’s (19 points) second NBA comeback. . .Seven weeks after the tragedy of September 11, Opening Night ’02 is a tribute to the city’s police and firemen.
SELLOUT NO. 401
DECEMBER 8, 2001
Hours after the sudden resignation of Jeff Van Gundy, new head coach Don Chaney leads the Knicks to a 101-99 win over Indiana.
SELLOUT NO. 402
DECEMBER 11, 2001
Sprewell’s career-high 49 points – the highest-scoring game for a Knick in more than a decade – go for naught in a 102-93 OT loss to the Celtics.
SELLOUT NO. 410
JANUARY 12, 2002
Houston pours in a career-high 44 points, including 24 in the fourth quarter, but it isn’t enough in a 102-97 loss to Milwaukee, as Ray Allen nails eight, three-point FG.
SELLOUT NO. 411
JANUARY 21, 2002
In the worst home loss in franchise history, Knicks are defeated by Charlotte, 111-68.
SELLOUT NO. 430
APRIL 9, 2002
In his final Garden appearance as a player, Patrick Ewing scores six points in 19 minutes as his Orlando Magic defeats the Knicks, 108-97.
SELLOUT NO. 433
NOVEMBER 2, 2002
One last time. . .The 433rd consecutive Garden sellout sees the Knicks drop their home opener to Boston, 117-107. . .The streak will end two nights later – on November 4 – when 18,100 are at the Garden for a 97-88 loss to Milwaukee.
2006-08-02 21:54:41
