Reggie Miller will be back at Madison Square Garden nearly 29 years to the day after his legendary performance in the same building, and he has a light-hearted warning for New York Knicks fans.
“Just know, the Boogeyman is coming back to town to call the game,” Miller said half-jokingly during an interview on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Monday. “I am coming.”
Miller, the former Pacers great who famously tormented the Knicks during his playing days, will work as an analyst for the TNT crew calling Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series Wednesday between Indiana and New York in Madison Square Garden.
Although Miller vowed that he would not exhibit “any favoritism” toward the Pacers, the Hall of Famer is not expecting a warm welcome at MSG.
“I’m sure I’ll hear the chants, I’m sure I’ll hear all those naughty words,” he said. “I’m good with that, but I’m there to do a job, to call a game. I’m sure this will be a great series.”
Indiana and New York squared off in the postseason six times over an eight-year stretch from 1992 to 2000, with Miller frequently playing the role of villain at Madison Square Garden, where he routinely feuded with Knicks players and fans.
Miller’s most memorable MSG moment came on May 7, 1995, when he scored eight points over the final nine seconds to rally the Pacers to a 107-105 victory in Game 1 of the conference semifinals. He authored another all-time performance in Game 5 of the 1994 conference finals, when he scored 25 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter while exchanging barbs with Knicks superfan Spike Lee.
Miller confirmed Monday that he has patched up his relationship with Lee, saying that they “have put a lot of our baggage under the bridge” despite being “forever linked.” But the five-time All-Star expects to be the target of fan ire with the Pacers-Knicks rivalry renewed.
“I will be surprised during the game if I don’t hear, ‘Reggie sucks,'” Miller said. “Actually, I’ll be a little hurt if I don’t hear, ‘Reggie sucks.’ I kind of want that.”
Miller, 58, played his entire 18-year career with the Pacers and is the franchise’s all-time leader in multiple categories, including points, assists, 3-pointers, steals and games played. The Pacers and Knicks played to an even 3-3 split in the six postseason series that Miller starred in.
The Pacers could have used some of Miller’s late-game heroics Monday in Game 1, when they squandered a nine-point fourth-quarter lead in a 121-117 loss that featured multiple controversial calls in the final minute.