The Indiana Pacers have never won an NBA championship through their four-plus decades in the NBA. Nonetheless, they've experienced some glory days of their own. Here are the five greatest moments in Indiana Pacers franchise history.
Spoiler alert: all involve Reggie Miller, undoubtedly the greatest Pacer of all time.
5.) Reggie Miller's 24-point 4th quarter
One of Reggie Miller's most memorable games came against the Knicks. This particular moment happened in the 1994 playoffs.
The Pacers were playing a horrible game, up until their star shooter decided it was Miller Time in the fourth quarter. Miller also had a heated exchange going with avid Knicks fan and famous director Spike Lee throughout the game, and this only fueled him in the final period. He made some ridiculous shots in the fourth quarter, including a long bomb from way beyond the arc, which even surprised the announcers calling the game.
After swishing the long three, Miller immediately looked towards the direction of Spike Lee and threw expletives at the Hollywood director. Miller also signaled the infamous choke signal to Lee during their animated verbal battle.
He ended up with 39 points, capped off by a fourth quarter eruption that left the Garden crowd, especially Spike Lee, utterly speechless.
Unfortunately, the Pacers wound up losing the series in seven games.
4.) 8 points in 9 seconds
The iconic “eight points in 9 seconds” is another one of Miller's most iconic moments. What made it more special is that it came against their most hated rival, the aforementioned New York Knicks. In Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference semi-finals, the Pacers found themselves trailing by six with 18 seconds remaining.
Indiana drew up a play to get Reggie Miller open and of course, he knocked down the triple to cut the lead to three. In the heat of the moment, the Knicks threw the ball away on the inbound and the ball found its way to Miller. The Pacers star, who got the ball inside the arc, turned around and raced to the three-point line. Miller drained the triple to tie the game, sending the Knicks and the MSG crowd into shock.
The Pacers actually made a mistake by fouling John Starks, sending him to the line for two free throws. Starks, however, missed both freebies. Miller got the rebound and New York's fortunes turned to its worst nightmare after they fouled the 90-percent free-throw shooter while he grabbed the ball. Unlike Starks, Miller sank both free throws to cap off his legendary performance down the stretch.
3. Finally getting over the Knicks
Stealing Game 1, highlighted by Miller's miraculous late game heroics, ended up having a huge impact on the series as the Pacers eventually knocked off New York in a grueling 7-game battle. The win became a sweet moment of victory as Indiana had fallen to New York the past two seasons, especially in heartbreaking fashion in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals.
The Pacers eliminated the Knicks with a gutsy effort in Game 7 on the road. Of course, this came with the help of a little choke job on the part of Patrick Ewing. The Knicks star center had the opportunity to send the Pacers home packing for the third straight year after finding a wide open lane to the basket for an easy layup. However, Lady Luck didn't come to New York's side as Ewing missed the bunny to give the Pacers their first NBA conference finals appearance in franchise history.
The two faced off in the playoffs six times in the span of eight years, with both teams winning against each other three times.
2. Making their first Finals in 2000
The 1999-00 Indiana Pacers put together their best regular season at the time with a 56-26 record. They finished as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. After getting past a gutsy Milwaukee Bucks squad in round one and knocking off the Philadelphia 76ers in the conference semi-finals, the Pacers finally made their first NBA Finals in franchise history. Fittingly, this came at the expense of none other than the Knicks, which they eliminated in six games.
Waiting on the wings were the powerhouse Los Angeles Lakers. The duo of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant proved too much for the Pacers. Nonetheless, the Pacers still made it tough for Shaq and Kobe to win their first ring together. They let one slip away with a heartbreaking two-point loss in overtime of Game 4.
In Game 5, however, Indiana bounced back and gave the Lakers arguably their worst defeat throughout their dominant three-peat run, a 33-point blowout. Game 6 was a close contest throughout, but Los Angeles closed the deal to win kickstart their dominant run.
1. Drafting Reggie Miller
To cap this all off, the greatest moment in franchise history came when they drafted the man that is almost synonymous to the franchise. The Pacers drafted the UCLA Bruin with the 11th pick in the 1987 draft. Indiana fans initially soured at Reggie Miller's selection, as they wanted the franchise to pick hometown boy Steve Alford.
Soon enough, however, Pacers fans learned how much of a special player they had on their hands. Miller eventually spent his entire 18-year career with the Pacers. Miller turned in five All-Star appearances and three All-NBA nods with the Pacers, all while finishing his career as the all-time leader in three-pointers made at the time of his retirement in 2005.
Indiana experienced a roller-coaster ride with Miller as their franchise cornerstone. They went through heartbreaks and playoff failures, and as mentioned, came close to finally achieving their goal of winning an NBA championship. Indiana became a legitimate title contender with Miller captaining the ship. Unfortunately, they ran into some of the best teams in NBA history, such as the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Despite never reaching the mountaintop, Indiana embraces Miller as their most beloved star of all time. And none of this would be possible if they didn't take the scrawny 6-foot-7 sharpshooter from UCLA.
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