NBA.com News: New York 92, Indiana 91


      ESPN.COM | ABCSPORTS.COM | NBA.COM | WNBA.COM | NHL.COM | NASCAR ONLINE






            News   Features   Stats&Schedules   Teams   Players   Sights&Sounds  
             Chats&Mailboxes   Global Basketball   NBA Store



             Playoffs Home     Bracket     At a Glance     Scoreboard 




      BOX SCORE | RECAP
      New York 92, Indiana 91



      NEW YORK (Ticker)  Trailing by three points with time running out, the 
      New York Knicks appeared to have very little chance of forcing overtime 
      against the Indiana Pacers. Larry Johnson made sure they didn't. 
      Johnson's incredible four-point play with 5.7 seconds left gave the Knicks 
      a stunning 92-91 victory over the Pacers and a 2-1 lead in the Eastern 
      Conference finals. 
             Larry Johnson, who scored 26 points, releases the three-pointer, 
            part of his game-winning four-point play.
            (AP Photo) 


      Playing without star center Patrick Ewing, the Knicks trailed 91-88 after 
      Indiana's Mark Jackson made two free throws with 11.6 seconds to go and 
      needed a miracle. Johnson provided one. 
      The in-bounds pass was deflected but corraled by Johnson at the left wing. 
      Guarded by Antonio Davis, Johnson faked and drew slight body contact 
      before launching his third 3-pointer as referee Jess Kersey called a foul. 

      "I was squared," Johnson said. "I wasn't leaning. The foul was not like an 
      off-balance foul. I was so shocked at that. But I thought I released it 
      pretty good." 
      "I wasn't trying to foul him but if I did foul him, I thought I fouled him 
      early," Davis said. 
      His teammates believed the foul came before the shot but Kersey explained 
      his call. 
      "If Johnson's got the ball here (a shooting motion) and he's starting his 
      shooting motion, and then he gets fouled and he's still going up, when he 
      picks that ball up to go to the basket, the foul occurs, that's 
      continuation," he said. 
      Johnson briefly celebrated but settled down and calmly sank the free throw 
      for perhaps the greatest four-point play in NBA history. 
      "After the shot, you know, I am going crazy and Chris (Childs) ran to me, 
      grabbed and said, 'Hey, you got a free throw to make,'" Johnson said. "It 
      was tough." 
      "It came to Larry," Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "And we didn't have 
      anything real good. You know, he just made a heck of a shot. The hard part 
      there is making the free throw, because the excitement is so great." 
      Jackson, a New York native who missed a 3-pointer at the end of Game One, 
      lost the ball but regained it and rushed a 10-footer that was short. The 
      horn sounded and the sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden broke into 
      delirium as the magical playoff run by the Knicks continued. 

            "After the shot, you know, I am going crazy and Chris (Childs) ran 
            to me, grabbed and said, 'Hey, you got a free throw to make.'"
             Larry Johnson

      "That is a tough call," Jackson said. "I don't think it is probably 
      rewarding to cry and complain." 
      "I'm not one of these guys to look at the tape and run it back 10 times," 
      Pacers coach Larry Bird said. "That was a bad call." 
      The Knicks already had upset top-seeded Miami and fourth-seeded Atlanta to 
      become the first No. 8 seed to reach the conference finals. New York 
      surprised second-seeded Indiana in Game One, but a loss in Game Two, 
      followed by Ewing's season-ending Achilles tendon tear, appeared to 
      signify an end to New York's postseason party. 
      But Johnson kept things going, scoring a playoff career-high 26 points. He 
      scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, which the Knicks closed with an 
      11-2 surge over the final 3:21. 
      There have been hundreds of four-point plays since the NBA adopted the 
      3-pointer prior to the 1979-80 season. But no postseason game had ever 
      been won by a four-point play. 
      "The first four-point shot that I've ever seen that decided a game," Van 
      Gundy said. "That was an unbelievable end." 
      "When you have a 3-point lead, you say to yourself, the worst (they) could 
      do is tie," Pacers guard Reggie Miller said. "But that old adage proved us 
      wrong tonight." 
      It was a crushing loss for the Pacers, who appeared to have the upper hand 
      when Ewing went down but now are facing a virtual must-win scenario in 
      Game Four on Monday night at New York. Indiana suffered its first loss in 
      four road postseason games. 
      "A shot like that can take a lot of steam out of your team," Miller 
      admitted. "But we came here to get one and we have a shot of doing that on 
      Monday. Is this a tough game to swallow? I'm sure it will be." 
      These rivals are meeting in the playoffs for the fourth time in the last 
      six years. Indiana has won at least one game at New York in each of the 
      previous three series. 
      The Knicks also got a huge game from Marcus Camby, who came off the bench 
      to contribute 21 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. He was so effective 
      he started the second half and played 33 minutes. 
      "This was probably my best game in a while, especially for a game so 
      important in the playoffs and gaining control of the series," said Camby, 
      who made 9-of-13 shots. 
      "Marcus was the best player out there," Bird said. "He scored points and 
      got a lot of rebounds and kept the ball alive. He had a phenomenal game 
      and that's something we need from some of our guys." 

            "When you have a 3-point lead, you say to yourself, the worst (they) 
            could do is tie. But that old adage proved us wrong tonight."
             Reggie Miller

      Bird may have been referring to Miller, who scored 12 points but was shut 
      out in the fourth quarter. A Knick killer from playoffs past, Miller has 
      been relatively quiet in this series. 
      "You want to give yourself a chance," said Miller, who has been hounded by 
      double-teaming defense. "But I feel my moment will come." 
      Johnson's heroics spoiled a big game by Pacers center Rik Smits, who 
      overcame early foul trouble to score 25 points. Smits had 15 straight 
      Indiana points in the second quarter and six in a row to give the Pacers 
      an 89-81 lead with 3:21 remaining. But Indiana went the final 4 1/2 
      minutes without a basket, missing its last five shots. 
      Childs triggered the comeback with a 3-pointer and the teams went 
      scoreless for nearly two minutes before Latrell Sprewell converted a layup 
      with 1:34 left. Johnson missed a jumper on the next possession but Camby 
      sank two free throws to make it 89-88 with 13 seconds to go. 
      Allan Houston scored 15 points and Sprewell added 14 but the high-scoring 
      guard duo combined to shoot just 12-of-36 from the field. The Knicks shot 
      44 percent (38-of-86) and held a 40-31 rebounding edge. 
      Jackson added 13 points and nine assists for Indiana, which shot 48 
      percent (31-of-65) and made 22-of-25 free throws, all over the last 30 
      minutes. 
      Ewing was on the bench in street clothes but scored as many points in the 
      first quarter as Smits, who was working against reserve center Chris 
      Dudley. He committed three turnovers and two quick fouls, taking a seat 
      with 6:52 left in the period. 
      Both teams were bogged down on offense and Johnson offered a preview of 
      things to come with a 30-footer at the buzzer that pulled the Knicks into 
      a 17-17 tie. 
      Camby's activity on both backboards and Sprewell's quickness fueled an 
      11-4 burst. Camby had a layup and dunk around a free throw and Sprewell 
      drove for a pair of baskets as New York opened a 32-25 lead with 5:27 
      remaining in the first half. 
      But Smits returned and could not be stopped. He made two foul-line jumpers 
      and a free throw -- Indiana's first of the game -- before drawing a foul 
      from Dudley. Two more free throws and a short jumper preceded a hook shot 
      that gave Indiana a 36-36 tie with 2:16 left. 
      Smits sank another jumper, then drew a third foul on Dudley, sending him 
      to the bench. His two foul shots completed his 15-point burst and gave the 
      Pacers a 40-38 lead with 1:16 to go. 
      "We were running the right plays, most of them pick-and-roll plays," Smits 
      said. "Mark does such a tremendous job pulling my man along." 
      "When Rik is aggressive, he scores," Bird said. "When he goes out there to 
      play, he has problems." 
      Camby tied it with a short jumper, but Miller drilled a 3-pointer and two 
      free throws and Jalen Rose made a running jumper to close the half with 
      Indiana holding a 47-42 edge. 
      Houston was 3-of-11 with five turnovers in the first half but came alive 
      in the third quarter, scoring nine points. Camby added eight more and the 
      Knicks opened a 69-65 lead. 
      Pacers reserve forward Derrick McKey scored eight points in a 16-6 surge. 
      Subs Travis Best and Sam Perkins sank 3-pointers to give Indiana an 81-75 
      lead with 8:09 remaining. 
       

            Pacers-Knicks series index
            New York Knicks
            home page
            Indiana Pacers
            home page
            VIDEO
            Knicks vs. Pacers (W, 92-91) 
            See complete Game 3 highlights:
            28.8+ | ISDN+ 
            With 1.5 seconds left in the first quarter, Larry Johnson drains the 
            long, long three pointer.
            753k avi | QuickTime 
            Knicks vs. Pacers (W, 92-91) 
            Larry Johnson gets up the three point shot that falls for the four 
            point play that beat the Pacers.
            958k avi | QuickTime 
            Mark Jackson sets up the defense and drives strong to the hole for 
            the layup early in the game.
            755k avi | QuickTime 
            Pacers at Knicks (L, 91-92) 
            Rik Smits makes the smooth jumper to give the Pacers a lead in the 
            fourth quarter.
            874k avi | QuickTime 



            AUDIO
            Listen to the Pacers-Knicks Game 3 Postgame Press Conference.
            RealAudio

            With 5.7 seconds in Game 3, Larry Johnson converts a four-point play 
            to win the game for the Knicks.
            172k wav | RealAudio







