Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks had numerous shots at bringing the Larry O’Brien trophy to the Big Apple. However, their best shot came during the 1994 NBA Finals when they were one win away from winning it all against the Houston Rockets.
Hindsight is always 20/20 and looking back at that series, Ewing felt the result could have gone their way had the ball bounced their way a few times.
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One play, in particular, gnaws at the legendary center — their final offensive in the last five seconds of Game 6.
Ewing was wide open
Momentum was on the Knicks’ side in that series after they won Game 5, 91-84. The championship was within reach; it was so close they could actually taste the champagne. However, the Rockets didn’t go down without a fight and leaned on the brilliance of Hakeem Olajuwon, who scored 30, and the unexpected contributions of reserve Carl Herrera, who added 12, to take a slim 86-84 lead with only 5.5 seconds to go.
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But with New York having possession, the game was still up for grabs. The Knicks turned to fiery guard John Starks, who had 27 points on 9-for-18 shooting in that game. Not long after receiving the inbound pass, he got a solid pick from Ewing, which gave him space to drive to his left and launch the potential game-winning three.
However, Olajuwon recovered enough to get his hand up and deflect the attempt, securing the win for the Rockets to send the series to Game 7.
Although he never blamed Starks for taking that shot, Ewing believes the result could have gone differently had he received a pocket pass. He realized this many years after when he became an assistant coach, ironically, with the Rockets.
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“I stopped playing, I coached in Washington for a year, then I go to Houston with Jeff [Van Gundy]. And every day for three years I’m sittin’ in the players’ lounge eatin’ breakfast or lunch, and they have this big-a-s picture of John [Starks] shootin’ that shot [at the end of Game 6] and Hakeem blockin’ it,” Ewing said.
“And I’m wide open, no one on me, just runnin’ down the lane,” he added.
Immediately called Starks
Ewing narrated that he immediately called Starks to tell him about the picture he was gawking at.
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“When I first got there, I called up John, like, ‘You motherf—er, I’m fu—in’ wide open! And you shot!” he said with a laugh.
Ewing was only joking, but at the same time, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to speculate that he wasn’t. With the middle of the floor wide open, he could have easily made a bucket and sent the game to overtime, giving the Knicks a chance to win it all.
Hearing the big man speak about Starks, though, it’s clear he doesn’t blame him for that loss or even the Game 7 defeat where the latter seemingly lost his mojo and went 2-for-18 from the field.
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“I just joke with him, because I loved playing with John, I love the man. He’s a warrior,” Ewing asserted. “You know, people always call me a warrior, but John, you always know he’s gonna have your back.”
A few bad bounces or missed shots can change the entire outcome of a game, and in this case, the fate of a franchise. It’s easy to dwell on what could have been, but Ewing is at peace with all that happened during his illustrious career.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.