Tag: Reggie Miller

History on This Day: Reggie Miller goes for 8 points in 9 seconds

Miller scored eight points in nine seconds to complete the improbable win over the Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

On this day in 1995, Reggie Miller turned in one of the most memorable moments in playoff history after leading the Indiana Pacers to a shocking come-from-behind win over the New York Knicks.

With the Knicks up 105-99 with 18.7 seconds left, Miller would go on to score eight points over the next nine seconds to seal the Game 1 win in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The improbable sequence of events was made possible by a number of mishaps by the Knicks and some incredible shooting by Miller.

Of course, the infamous sequence was later featured in the “30 for 30” documentary, “Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks.” The film highlighted the tense rivalry between the Pacers and Knicks in the 1990s and the progression to the historic performance by Miller in that playoff series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoCpMguR4cQ

The Pacers would go on to win the series over the Knicks in seven games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Unfortunately, as Miller said in the “30 for 30” doc, he wished the series win over the Knicks came to advance to the NBA Finals because the Pacers eventually lost to the Orlando Magic in the conference finals. The Magic then lost to the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals.

Miller established himself as one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. The Hall of Famer was known for his ability in clutch time, as highlighted in the series versus the Knicks. He is considered one of the best players to finish without winning a championship.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Reggie Miller hilariously screams at Giannis Antetokounmpo to not ruin perfect All-Star shooting night

Reggie Miller’s reaction was too funny.

Reggie Miller couldn’t have had a funnier reaction to a three-pointer from Giannis Antetokounmpo in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night in Atlanta, Georgia.

Antetokounmpo was a perfect 15-for-15 on the night before he pulled up, and Miller, who was an analyst on the TV broadcast, began to scream, “No! No! No!” But after Antetokounmpo, who won All-Star Game MVP, knocked down the shot, Miller began yelling: “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Antetokounmpo didn’t take another shot, as he and Team LeBron cruised to a 170-150 win over Team Durant.

The entire TV broadcast went wild after seeing Antetokounmpo knock down his 16th shot, a hilarious bank shot. Here’s a look.

“You know, usually it is closed [on Sundays],” Antetokounmpo told reporters after the game when asked about the banked-in jumpers, “but for me, it was open extended hours.”

Antetokounmpo set a new record for most consecutive makes by shattering the record set by Hal Greer, who went 8-for-8 in 1968.

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Reggie Miller was hilariously confused by the fake crowd noise at the NBA All-Star Game

LOL.

The 2020-21 NBA All-Star Game took place Sunday night and it came to a fun conclusion when Damian Lillard hit a game-winning 3-pointer from just inside half court for Team LeBron, who beat Team Durant, 170-150.

The game started with some confusion for Reggie Miller, who was calling the game on TNT with Marv Albert and Chris Webber. That’s hardly a dream booth for any game, let alone an All-Star game, but that’s what we got, unfortunately.

The game, which was played in State Farm Arena in Atlanta, had about 1,500 fans in attendance. Miller couldn’t believe the noise they were making early on but then Albert let him in on a secret:

LOL.

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Reggie Miller had the classiest response to getting passed by Steph Curry on the 3-point list

Just awesome stuff from Reggie MIller.

Reggie Miller had a touching response to Steph Curry moving past Miller with the second-most 3-pointers in NBA history. Curry had 2,562 career 3-pointers by the end of Saturday night with Ray Allen (2,973) still sitting at first on the all-time list. Miller is third with 2,560.

During postgame interviews, Miller hopped onto the videoconference with his son to issue a long congratulations to Curry.

“This is an unbelievable achievement,” Miller told Curry. “But the work is not done. I know you are chasing Ray, but you are an inspiration to so many little ones, like mine. I’m just so proud of all the work because I know what goes into that. I know the countless hours when it’s easy to go hang with your boys, hit the clubs, sleep, do other things, but you’re in the lab getting your work done.

“There are sacrifices that come with that and the blend that you have with your family and basketball and Dub Nation, the Millers are very proud of you.”

This is just awesome. It’s so cool to see two of the NBA’s greats have so much love and respect for one another.

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Reggie Miller reacts to Steph Curry becoming third player in NBA history to make 2,500 3-pointers

After Steph Curry hit his 2,500th career 3-pointer in a game against the Bulls, Reggie Miller had high praise for the Warriors’ point guard.

Before Damion Lee knocked down a game-winning triple against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night, Steph Curry moved up a notch in NBA history books. 

As he sunk a shot from beyond the arc with one minute remaining in the first quarter of Golden State’s tilt against Chicago, Curry became only the third player in NBA history to make 2,500 or more career 3-pointers. 

NBA Hall of Famers Reggie Miller (2,560) and Ray Allen (2,970) are the only other players in league history to surpass 2,500 made 3-pointers. Following Curry’s historic triple against the Bulls, a member of the exclusive 2,500 club congratulated the Golden State point guard on Twitter. 

Via @ReggieMillerTNT on Twitter: 

After shooting 5-of-15 from long distance against Chicago, Curry will only need to make 56 more 3-pointers to catch Miller on the all-time list. 

Following Miller’s congratulatory message, Curry chimed in on Twitter with a response to the former Indiana Pacer. 

Via @StephenCurry30 on Twitter: 

Behind Curry, the closest active NBA player is Houston’s James Harden at No. 5 with 2,335. After Harden, JJ Redick (1,891), LeBron James (1,885), Klay Thompson (1,798) and Damian Lillard (1,787) are listed in the top 20.

Curry will have the chance to add to his total when Golden State travels to Detroit on Tuesday for the final contest of their four-game road trip to open the season.

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Sixers Playoff Rewind: Allen Iverson drops 33 to eliminate the Pacers

We wind the clocks back to 2001 when the Philadelphia 76ers eliminated the Indiana Pacers.

The Philadelphia 76ers entered Conseco Fieldhouse in 2001 looking to eliminate the Indiana Pacers and continue on to the next round. The Sixers had lost Game 1 at home, but they had bounced back to a 2-1 lead with a chance to eliminate Indiana and move on.

The Pacers had just reached the NBA Finals in 2000 and despite being just the 8 seed, they were at home and they certainly would not back down. Not when Reggie Miller was lurking for the Pacers and the home crowd behind them.

However, there was one thing Indiana did not have and that is Allen Iverson. The season MVP would deliver a huge performance on the road of 33 points and four assists to lead Philadelphia to an 88-85 win in Game 4 and move on to Round 2.

Iverson and Miller had a helluva series with The Answer averaging 31.8 points and Miller averaging 31.5 points. The two of them went at it and they provided an entertaining series for everybody to watch. For Sixers fans, the important part was they were moving on to the semifinals to get themselves closer towards the NBA Finals. [lawrence-related id=38752,38744,38731]

Reggie Miller backs Sam Cassell, Becky Hammon for Rockets coach

“Becky Hammon has learned the Spurs way, which is a culture that is totally different from what the Rockets are,” Miller said.

Basketball Hall of Famer and current NBA on TNT analyst Reggie Miller believes Los Angeles Clippers assistant Sam Cassell and San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon should each be highly considered for the vacant head coaching position with the Houston Rockets.

Hammon, 43, and Cassell, 50, each have several years of experience working for two of the NBA’s most respected head coaches in Gregg Popovich and Doc Rivers. Both have coached deep into the playoffs.

Miller addressed the Houston situation on a recent media conference call. In comments transcribed by David Barron of the Houston Chronicle:

Sam Cassell won championships [as a player] with the Rockets. He’s familiar with the organization and with the fan base. He understands veteran players and systems and, having been in the Western Conference, he knows their personnel. That’s a guy the Rockets fan base can rally around.

Hammon is a “why not push the boundaries” option, Miller said.

It’s outside the box, which is what the Houston Rockets are. They went to small ball. They’re used to being on the cusp of changing things up.

Becky Hammon has learned the Spurs way, which is a culture that is totally different from what the Rockets are. Maybe you need a culture change, and what better person if you want to be on the outside and break the gender barrier and change things totally?

Why not push the boundaries. You pushed the boundaries when you went 6-foot-7 and below and brought in Harden and Westbrook and played iso ball. Why not push it more and hire Becky Hammon? I think she would be a fabulous coach.

Per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, mutual interest has been shown between the Rockets and Cassell, who also interviewed with Houston during the team’s 2011 and 2016 searches for a head coach.

Hammon hasn’t yet been reported as a Houston candidate, though owner Tilman Fertitta was asked about her during a recent CNBC interview and didn’t dismiss the possibility.

In 2016, the Rockets did show some interest in the Popovich coaching tree. Prior to hiring Mike D’Antoni, GM Daryl Morey interviewed a pair of then-Spurs assistants in Ettore Messina and James Borrego.

As of Saturday, there had yet to be any reports of a formal interview taking place between the Rockets and potential 2020 candidates.

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Reggie Miller questions Zion Williamson being a game-time decision

Hall of Famer Reggie Miller disagreed with the Pelicans’ approach to Zion Williamson’s status on Thursday against the Jazz.

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No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson will be a game-time decision as the New Orleans Pelicans kick off the season restart opener Thursday night against the Utah Jazz.

Williamson left the Pelicans at the Walt Disney World Resort on July 16 to attend to an urgent family matter and returned on July 24. He returned to practice on Tuesday following a four-day quarantine period and participated in a light session on Wednesday.

Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry said Wednesday that the team will discuss a game plan with Williamson and the medical staff for his return but said he would be a game-time decision against the Jazz after participating in two days of practice.

The Pelicans have been cautious with Williamson this season but Hall of Famer Reggie Miller disagreed with the team’s approach to his status on Thursday. Miller said on “The Dan Patrick Show” that Williamson needs to be playing if he is fully healthy.

Is it a game-time decision because of an underlying health issue or because of conditioning? If it’s because of conditioning, and you’re 20 years old, get out there and play. We have an opportunity here, and I know they’re 3.5 [games] behind Memphis, Memphis has one of the most difficult schedules in the seeding games and New Orleans has the easiest. You have an opportunity to be within that four-game gap to have a play-in game.

Also, too, if you’re Alvin Gentry and you’re the Pelicans, you’re trying to build a foundation; you’re trying to build for the future. Are you necessarily going to win a championship this year? No, but let’s build winning habits, playoff habits. Let’s play at a high level. For me, that includes having Zion on the floor. If he’s hurt or injured, I can understand that but if it’s coming from a conditioning standpoint, I heard him comment, ‘I could play 48 minutes if I had to.’ Well, let’s test that out. He needs to be on the floor playing.

Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said this week that the team would be cautious with any player that missed a significant amount of time without doing any physical activity, especially with Williamson given the amount of torque he generates.

Williamson returned to the Pelicans in great shape after working out extensively with his stepfather over the summer. He said that he wants to play on Thursday but the decision will ultimately be up to the team and the medical staff.

The Pelicans tip-off the season restart at 6:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

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Research: LeBron has been the top player in more playoff series than anybody else in NBA history

We recently looked up playoff GameScore ratings from the indispensable Basketball-Reference, an advanced stat created by former Grizzlies front-office member John Hollinger which gives “a rough measure of a player’s productivity for a single game.” …

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We recently looked up playoff GameScore ratings from the indispensable Basketball-Reference, an advanced stat created by former Grizzlies front-office member John Hollinger which gives “a rough measure of a player’s productivity for a single game.”

According to GameScore, LeBron James has been the No. 1 player in more playoff series than anyone else, which speaks to the four-time league MVP’s sustained level of excellence and longevity. James has been the top statistical player 38 times out of the 45 playoff series he’s taken part in, per GameScore, good for a percentage of 84.4 percent.

Not to be outdone, however, Michael Jordan owns the best percentage of series in which he was the best player. Only twice out of the 37 playoff series he competed in was he not the top player, giving him a strong percentage of 94.6 percent.

James and Jordan finish as runaway No. 1 and No. 2 on our rankings here respectively, James with 38 playoff series as the No. 1 player per GameScore and Jordan with 35.

Other eye-opening entries on these rankings: Hakeem Olajuwon, Kevin Durant and Reggie Miller rank higher than you might expect based on how they are typically ranked in GOAT lists. Olajuwon was the No. 1 statistical player in 19 playoff series (as many as Shaquille O’Neal), Durant in 15 series (three more than Kobe Bryant) and Miller in 11 series (as many as Wade).

There is one important caveat to consider here: These numbers are only dating back to 1983-84. If not for that, legends like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird would rank higher, and others like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would make the list, though they still wouldn’t beat LeBron or Jordan based on the number of series they played in.

For the full ranking of the Top 22 players with the most playoff series as the top player, just click through the gallery above.

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