NBA

Best playoff moments in Knicks, Nets history

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16. There was never really any doubt who was the better point guard in the area at the time, but Jason Kidd never allowed it to become a debate. Stephon Marbury and the Knicks were thoroughly embarrassed by the Nets in the first round of 2004 playoffs, getting swept, while losing by an average of nearly 10 points per game.

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15. With Michael Jordan having left the Bulls for baseball, the Knicks were finally able to advance past Chicago after losing to their rival in the playoffs three straight years, but just barely. The Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1994 with an 87-77 Game 7 win at home after a wild back-and-forth series, which included Toni Kukoc's game-winner, a brawl and Hue Hollins' controversial foul call on Scottie Pippen's attempt to block Hubert Davis' shot at the end of Game 5.

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14. The Nets returned to the NBA Finals for the second straight year after sweeping the Pistons in the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals, with a 102-82 win to close out the series. It was the Nets' 10th straight win of the playoffs.

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13. With the Knicks up three in the final minute of Game 2 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals, John Starks blew by B.J. Armstrong and flew over Horace Grant for "The Dunk," a left-handed throwdown which became the most famous slam in Knicks history. The win gave the top-seeded Knicks a 2-0 series lead over Michael Jordan and the two-time defending champion Bulls.

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12. The Knicks lost the first two games of their best-of-five first round series against the Celtics in 1990, but managed to force a deciding Game 5 in Boston. After posting 44 points and 13 rebounds in Game 4, Patrick Ewing dominated again with 31 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in Game 5, which included a game-sealing turnaround 3-pointer from the corner in the final two minutes with the shot clock expiring.

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11. Going up against the defending champion 76ers, the Nets pulled out a deciding Game 5 upset on the road in the first round of the 1984 playoffs. Michael Ray Richardson and Otis Birdsong each had 24 points, while Buck Williams had 17 points and 16 rebounds.

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10. Soon to be Hall of Famer Bernard King was in his prime when he powered the Knicks past the Pistons in the first round of the 1984 playoffs and a deciding Game 5 in Detroit. Dueling with Isiah Thomas, who scored 16 points in the final 93 seconds of regulation to force overtime, King battled the flu and two dislocated fingers and still put up 44 points and 12 rebounds in the win.

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9. After getting swept by the Lakers in the 2002 NBA Finals, the Nets were just two wins away from their first NBA championship the next year after pulling out a 77-76 slugfest in Game 4 in East Rutherford. Kenyon Martin led the Nets with 20 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.

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8. Jason Kidd helped spark one of the best turnarounds in NBA history, leading the New Jersey Nets to their first-ever NBA Finals in his first season with the team. Kidd had a triple-double (15 points, 13 rebounds, 13 assists) to guide the Nets past the Celtics in Game 6 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals.

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7. Playing the Heat in the playoffs for the third straight year (1999), the eighth-seeded Knicks knocked off their rival, and No. 1 seed in the East, on Allan Houston's game-winning runner from the foul line in the deciding fifth-game of the first round series, which hit the rim and backboard before falling through the net with 0.8 seconds left.

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6. In 1973, the Knicks did what no team had ever done before -- win a Game 7 at the Boston Garden. The Celtics had won a franchise-record 68 games, leading legendary Knicks coach Red Holzman (pictured) to call the win, "the most satisfying of [his] career."

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5. As the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference in 1999, the underdog Knicks pulled off a miraculous play against the Pacers, without an injured Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson put the Knicks ahead on a 4-point play after trailing by three with 5.7 seconds left. The Knicks won Game 3, taking a 2-1 series lead and would go on to reach the NBA Finals.

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4. After winning the 1974 ABA title, the New York Nets won their second championship two years later in the league's final game, also marking the franchise's last title. Julius Erving was named the MVP, as the Nets defeated the Denver Nuggets 112-106 at Nassau Coliseum

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3. 1973 could never live up to the drama of three years earlier, but the Knicks captured their second NBA championship by defeating the Lakers once again, this time in five games, over the team that had beaten them in the NBA Finals the previous year. Though not nearly as famous, this championship team may have had the best backcourt in league history, with Earl Monroe (pictured) joining Walt Frazier.

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2. The Knicks had not been to the NBA Finals in 21 years, but Patrick Ewing's 24 points and 22 rebounds, including a putback slam in the final 30 seconds, put the Knicks in the 1994 Finals and sent the star center up and down the sidelines celebrating with the courtside crowd.

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1. "And here comes Willis!" Marv Albert's words signaled the return of the Knicks center and league MVP in Willis Reed, whose status for Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals was in doubt due to a severe thigh injury which kept him out of the previous game. He hit the game's first two shots, inspiring the crowd at Madison Square Garden and the team to its first NBA title, with Walt Frazier controlling the game with 36 points and 19 assists.