They trailed 86-84 and got the ball to Starks on the final possession for a three-point shot that would’ve sealed his place in NBA history. One year earlier Chicago’s John Paxson had hit a trey in exactly this spot. Olajuwon was having none of it. He stepped out and got a piece of the ball. We were going to a Game 7.
The 1990 New York Knicks were a team that seemed on the verge of humiliation before coming up with an under-the-radar signature moment in a franchise history that has been long short of them.
Defense is the core problem. New York plays relatively low-scoring games, so this is going to be obscured. But the low point volumes are due to a slower pace, not because the Knicks excel at shutting anyone down when they need to. New York ranks 25th in the NBA in defensive efficiency…