Moments after the Knicks’ season-ending Game 7 loss to the Pacers, Reggie Miller’s presence loomed once again.
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton had just scored a team-high 26 points in Indiana’s 130-109 victory at Madison Square Garden when he arrived at his postgame press conference in a Miller-themed hooded sweatshirt.
The hoodie featured a photo of Miller taunting Knicks superfan Spike Lee with his infamous “choke” gesture during Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals.
“We text every day,” Haliburton said of Miller. “He’s been a good mentor for me. I’m just wearing the hoodie. I like to be comfy on the plane.”
Miller’s Pacers faced the Knicks in six playoff series between 1993 and 2000, with the two teams winning three apiece. The sharp-shooting, trash-talking Miller averaged 23.1 points per game over his 35 postseason meetings with the Knicks.
“I got this hoodie like two days ago,” Haliburton said. “Appreciate whoever gave it to me.”
Haliburton, who also showed up at the Indianapolis airport before Game 5 in a Miller shirt, averaged 21.3 points and 7.0 assists per game during the second-round playoff series against the Knicks.
He scored 14 of his 26 points Sunday in the first quarter, during which he made four of his five 3-point attempts.
“Today, he knew that we needed some special shotmaking,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said of Haliburton. “There were shades of Reggie Miller, running around in that first quarter.”
Miller was back at The Garden earlier this month to call Game 2 of the series for TNT.
“People are like, ‘Aren’t you worried about going back to New York City and calling a game?’ No,” Miller said that night during a pregame hit for the network. “I’ve owned this city. I’ve owned this building, so why would I be worried?”
On his way to the broadcast table, Miller sat courtside with Lee and signed multiple items, including a framed copy of the June 3, 1994 edition of the Daily News featuring the headline, “Thanks A Lot, Spike.”
“Me and Reggie squashed that stuff 20 years ago,” Lee told the Daily News that night, “so we’re friends.”
