1962 - Richie Guerin ties Willie Naull’s (1961) franchise record with 23 field goals made, leading the Knicks to a 125-112 win over the Boston Celtics. Guerin finishes the game with 51 points (23-36 FG) and 10 rebounds

1968 – The Knicks christen the “New Garden” with a 114-102 victory over the San Diego Rockets. Dick Barnett scores 26 points. Willis Reed records 23 points and 14 rebounds and Walt Frazier posts 22 points and 10 assists.

The Real Rivalry:  Bill Russell and Willis Reed

courtesy of NBA

A young Charles Oakley and Craig Sager wearing normal clothes

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Know When to Say When

On the eve of Scottie Pippen’s induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame, we dug through the archives and came up with this gem from game 6 of the 1989 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Earlier that season, Kenny “Sky” Walker brought us this great Knicks’ memory:

The Mask

Via Sports Illustrated’s 25 Most Hated Teams of All Time:

#7 1993-94 New York Knicks

These Knicks were a collection of chest-pounding, elbow-throwing players who won without any of the aesthetically pleasing basketball that their famously suave coach, Pat Riley, had overseen during his tenure with the “Showtime” Lakers. Yes, the likes of Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, John Starks, Derek Harper and Greg Anthony defined grittiness in complementing star center Patrick Ewing, and the Knicks were statistically a great defensive team. But their rough-and-tumble style went over so well that after their seven-game loss to the Rockets in the low-rated 1994 Finals (in which neither team exceeded 91 points, Starks shot 2-for-18 in Game 7 and the league’s signature event was described as “Uglyball”), the NBA cracked down on hand-checking in an effort to liberate perimeter scorers and increase scoring. Naturally, the Knicks weren’t pleased. “The game has become sissified. Let us play. People are going to get bored with the games,” Mason said. “It’s going to get ridiculous.” But it beats the alternative.