MetLife Stadium also hosts two sports teams in our area. But it’s not the same. Madison Square Garden — home of the Knicks and Rangers — is unique. It is an arena filled with presence, with atmosphere, with something seemingly magical.
There have been a number of magnificent sports moments at the Garden. Here are the 10 biggest:
Part of a perfect ledger
October 26, 1951
Rocky Marciano never lost in his professional career, going 49-0, and he entered this night 37-0 and preparing to face Joe Louis at the Garden. Marciano knocked the Brown Bomber out in the eighth round, then shed tears in Louis’ dressing room afterward because he felt conflicted about taking down his idol.
Willis Wonder
May 8, 1970
By my reckoning, this is the most memorable sports moment in MSG history. In Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the Lakers, the Knicks’ hobbled captain — center Willis Reed — takes the court (“Here comes Willis!”) despite a thigh injury that cost him Game 6. The inspirational big man sinks the night’s first two shots, becomes an embodiment of playing hurt in a big sport and lifts the Knicks to a Game 7 — and NBA championship — victory.
The Greatest VS. Smokin’ Joe, Vel. 1
March 8, 1971
The first battle between boxing titans Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier ends with Smokin’ Joe taking down Ali by unanimous decision to capture the world heavyweight championship. The brawl is dubbed as the “Fight of the Century,” and it results in the first loss of Ali’s celebrated career after 31 straight wins.
A chance at the championship
May 27, 1994
The Rangers and Devils are engrossed in a magnificent Eastern Conference Finals, and heading into Game 7, the highlight had been Game 6 – Mark Messier guaranteeing that the up-against-the-wall Rangers would win that night and then delivering a hat trick to produce the victory. Game 7, however, becomes a classic – after the Devils’ Valeri Zelepukin scores with 7.7 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 1-1, the Rangers’ Stephane Matteau scores at 4:24 of double OT to thrust the Blueshirts into the Stanley Cup Finals.
The true dunk
June 5, 1994
John Starks’ jam in the 1993 Eastern Finals receives more fame and is known as “The Dunk,” but a slam in the Eastern Finals the next season is far bigger. In the final seconds of Game 7 against the Pacers, Patrick Ewing puts back Starks’ driving layup attempt with a rebound-and-dunk, giving the Knicks the lead for good. It’s the wrap on one of the finest Game 7 performances imaginable – Ewing delivers a staggering 24 points, 22 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks to head to the NBA Finals.
A happy 54th anniversary
June 14, 1994
It has been a 54-year drought since the Rangers captured the Stanley Cup, and after the Blueshirts grab a 3-1 series lead in the Finals, the Canucks come back with victories in Games 5-6 to tie it at three games apiece. Mark Messier’s crew, though, finally finishes the Rangers’ championship drought with a 3-2 Game 7 win, thanks to goals from (who else) Messier, Adam Graves and Conn Smythe Trophy-winner Brian Leetch. Mike Richter stops 28 of 30 shots in goal.
The end for 99
April 18, 1999
Of course this happens in 1999 — it is a year for the greatest 99 of all time, Wayne Gretzky. Hockey’s best player calls it quits after a 2-1 OT loss to the Penguins. Gretzky has his No. 99 retired by the entire NHL, earns recognition as the game’s first, second and third star, and skates around the Garden ice rink in a postgame — and post-career — triumph.
And one . . . Er, and four
June 5, 1999
In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pacers, Larry Johnson delivers perhaps the most memorable shot at the Garden since Reed in Game 7. With the Knicks trailing 91-88 in the final seconds and about to be trailing 2-1 in the series, MSG becomes Mardi Gras as LJ drills a game-tying three-pointer from the wing — and is also fouled by Indiana’s Antonio Davis, presenting the chance for an improbable, game-winning, series-turning four-point play. Johnson drains the free throw with 5.7 seconds left, and the Knicks win.
The marathon
March 12, 2009
It qualifies as an absolute classic — Jim Boeheim’s Syracuse squad battling against Jim Calhoun’s Connecticut team in the 2009 Big East Tournament Quarterfinals in what ends up as the longest game in conference history. The insanity runs for a ridiculous six overtimes — 30 additional minutes of action after the original 40 in regulation. Syracuse pulls it out, 127-117, as the game finally ends at 1:22 in the morning.
Last-second ecstasy
May 7, 2012
In Game 5 of the Eastern Semifinals against the Capitals, the top-seeded Rangers are trailing 2-1, on the verge of a loss that will give Washington a 3-2 series lead with Game 6 slated to be in DC. But with 6.6 seconds left in the third period, Brad Richards bangs in the game-tying goal, one that – to quote Post writer Larry Brooks – “became one to remember for all time.” Ninety-five seconds into OT, Marc Staal wins it for the Rangers, giving THEM a 3-2 series lead en route to a 4-3 series triumph.