Miller’s 9-Second Burst Dumps Knicks

Reggie Miller with a ball in his hands in the fourth quarter can be amazing. Reggie Miller with a ball in his hands in the final seconds Sunday was incredible in New York.

Miller scored eight points in a 9-second span as Indiana, trailing by six with 18 seconds left, came back for a victory over New York in the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinal.

A year ago, Miller scored 25 points in the fourth quarter as Indiana took a 3-2 lead over the Knicks in the conference finals, only to lose the last two games.

This time, Miller’s performance was so sudden, so shocking, as he put it, “It was like putting a dagger in their back.”

Although he denied it in the postgame press conference, Miller was overheard hollering in the tunnel leading to the locker room: “Choke Artists! Choke Artists!”

The incredible closing sequence started with the Pacers seemingly out of the game when Greg Anthony’s two free throws put the Knicks ahead 105-99 with 18 seconds left.

But Miller, who didn’t have a fourthquarter field goal until the final minute, hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining, then stole the inbounds pass, stepped behind the line and swished another to tie the game.

John Starks missed two free throws at the other end, and Patrick Ewing got the rebound. But he missed a short jumper.

Then Miller was fouled on the rebound, and he made two free throws with 7.5 seconds left. Anthony stumbled on New York’s final possession, and the clock ran out.

Miller sprinted to the area near Spike Lee’s seat as time expired, taunting the famed film director as he did after his memorable performance a year ago. Later, Miller said he wasn’t directing his excitement at anyone in particular.

INDIANA (107)

D.Davis 2-6 4-6 8, McKey 5-13 2-2 12, Smits 13-19 8-9 34, Jackson 4-7 0-0 8, Miller 7-18 14-15 31, A.Davis 0-1 1-2 1, Workman 1-4 0-0 2, Mitchell 3-4 0-0 6, Scott 1-6 3-3 5, Ferrell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-78 32-37 107.

NEW YORK (105)

Oakley 6-11 5-5 17, Smith 5-7 2-4 12, Ewing 4-15 3-4 11, Harper 4-9 0-0 10, Starks 8-17 2-4 21, Mason 6-8 3-7 15, H.Davis 2-6 0-0 4, H.Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony 4-6 4-4 15. Totals 39-79 19-28 105.

Indiana 29 25 26 27 - 107

New York 27 32 18 28 - 105

3-Point goals-Indiana 3-11 (Miller 3-7, McKey 0-1, Workman 0-1, Scott 0-2), New York 8-21 (Anthony 3-4, Harper 2-4, Starks 3-9, Oakley 0-1, H.Davis 0-3). Fouled out-McKey, Smits. Rebounds-Indiana 48 (D.Davis 13), New York 48 (Ewing, Oakley 10). Assists-Indiana 25 (Jackson 7), New York 26 (Starks 7). Total fouls-Indiana 31, New York 28. Technicals-Jackson, A.Davis 2, Workman, Harper 2, Ewing, Mason, Anthony. Flagrant fouls-Harper. Ejections-A.Davis, Harper. A-19,763 (19,763).

Magic 94, Bulls 91

Orlando, Fla.

Michael Jordan proved all too human, losing the ball and botching a pass in the closing seconds, and Orlando survived its playoff opener with Chicago.

Jordan had the ball stolen from behind by Nick Anderson, and Anfernee Hardaway fed former Bull Horace Grant for a dunk and a one-point lead with 6.2 seconds left. Jordan then threw an offline pass that Scottie Pippen couldn’t handle on the baseline.

What was already a horrible game for Jordan ended disastrously as the Magic took a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series. Not only did he lose the ball leading to Grant’s go-ahead basket, but Jordan had an open shot at the top of the key when he whipped the pass to Pippen, who was all alone on the left wing. Pippen couldn’t hang on, losing the ball out of bounds with 1.5 seconds remaining.

It was that kind of game for Jordan. He went 8-for-22 for 19 points, his low in this year’s playoffs, and committed eight turnovers, matching his career high.

CHICAGO (91)

Kukoc 6-12 3-3 17, Pippen 2-11 2-2 7, Longley 2-4 2-2 6, Armstrong 3-6 1-2 8, Jordan 8-22 3-5 19, Blount 0-1 0-0 0, Perdue 4-6 0-0 8, Wennington 5-6 4-4 14, Buechler 0-2 0-0 0, Myers 0-2 1-2 1, Kerr 4-6 1-1 11, Harper 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-78 17-21 91.

ORLANDO (94)

Royal 1-2 0-0 2, Grant 5-10 6-9 16, O’Neal 7-11 12-16 26, Hardaway 5-12 6-9 16, Anderson 8-14 1-1 20, Scott 5-13 3-4 14, Rollins 0-1 0-0 0, Shaw 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 31-67 28-39 94.

Chicago 19 24 22 26 - 91

Orlando 22 21 26 25 - 94

3-Point goals-Chicago 6-16 (Kerr 2-2, Kukoc 2-4, Armstrong 1-3, Pippen 1-4, Buechler 0-1, Jordan 0-2), Orlando 4-13 (Anderson 3-6, Scott 1-6, Hardaway 0-1). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-Chicago 53 (Pippen 10), Orlando 42 (O’Neal 12). Assists-Chicago 23 (Kukoc, Pippen 7), Orlando 22 (Hardaway, Shaw 6). Total fouls-Chicago 26, Orlando 24. Technicals-Orlando illegal defense 3. Flagrant foul-Perdue. A-16,010 (16,010).

Rockets 95, Jazz 91

HOUSTON (95)

Horry 3-7 2-2 8, Chilcutt 1-2 0-0 2, Olajuwon 10-16 13-20 33, Drexler 8-15 10-14 31, Smith 2-7 2-2 8, Brown 0-0 4-4 4, Jones 0-0 0-2 0, Elie 1-3 2-2 5, Cassell 1-4 2-4 4, Tabak 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-54 34-48 95.

UTAH (91)

Benoit 3-9 0-0 8, Malone 10-21 14-20 35, Donaldson 0-0 0-0 0, Stockton 4-14 3-4 12, Hornacek 5-10 5-6 19, Watson 2-3 0-0 4, Carr 1-6 5-6 7, Chambers 1-2 2-2 4, Keefe 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 27-68 29-38 91.

Houston 19 23 22 31 - 95

Utah 18 26 27 20 - 91

3-Point goals-Houston 9-21 (Drexler 5-7, Smith 2-5, Cassell 1-2, Elie 1-3, Chilcutt 0-1, Horry 0-3), Utah 8-21 (Hornacek 4-5, Benoit 2-8, Malone 1-2, Stockton 1-6). Fouled out-Brown, Hornacek, Carr. Rebounds-Houston 48 (Olajuwon, Drexler 10), Utah 44 (Malone 10). Assists-Houston 19 (Olajuwon, Cassell 4), Utah 20 (Hornacek 6). Total fouls-Houston 31, Utah 36. Technicals-Cassell, Hornacek, Keefe, Utah coach Sloan, Houston illegal defense. A-19,911 (19,911).