In case any New York Knicks fans had forgotten that May 7 was the anniversary of one of the worst games in franchise history, Reggie Miller was there to remind them.
The Hall of Famer and current TNT broadcaster returned to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night to call Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers. Exactly 18 years earlier, in the same building, Miller scored eight points in the final 18.7 seconds of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to push Indiana to a shocking victory.
The teams had also met in the playoffs in 1994, and Miller had famously given a choke sign to New York superfan Spike Lee as Indiana pulled away in Game 5. Miller joked about the incident on Twitter before Tuesday's game.
Since its the anniversary of the 8pts, maybe I walk by Spike tonight and give him the choke sign for old times sake...jk jk, I'm an ANGEL..
— Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) May 7, 2013
But there's no lingering animosity between Miller and Lee, and the two shared a hug and a laugh before the game.
“We were just saying hello,” Lee told the New York Times. "I didn’t even know it was the 18th anniversary of that game until I got here."
While Lee may have been happy to see Miller, it's safe to say most Knicks fans were not. And Miller knew it.
Sooooooo looking forward to hearing the Garden's faithful crowd as Kevin Harlan, Rachel Nichols and myself come into the building... Smile..
— Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) May 7, 2013
But whether you like Miller or hate him, it's impossible not to appreciate the coincidence.
“You know how they talk about the basketball gods?" Miller told the Times. "This is from the basketball gods."