1998–99 New York Knicks season

New York Knicks
1998–99 New York Knicks season
	Eastern Conference Champions
Head coach	Jeff Van Gundy
General manager	Ernie Grunfeld; Dave Checketts
Owner(s)	Cablevision
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Results
Record	27–23 (.540)
Place	Division: 4th; Conference: 8th
Playoff finish	NBA Finals; (eliminated 1-4)
	Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	MSG Network
Radio	WFAN
< 1997–98	1999–00 >

The 1998–99 New York Knicks season was the 52nd season of NBA basketball in New York City, New York.^[1] The Head Coach was Jeff Van Gundy, serving for his 4th year. The team played its home games at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Key contributors included Patrick Ewing, Marcus Camby, Larry Johnson, Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston. The team finished with a 27-23 record, to secure the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. New York made it all the way to the NBA Finals, the first time in NBA history a No. 8 seed had advanced that far in the playoffs.

Recap

The Knicks started the season with championship aspirations as they had acquired Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby via trade. However, because of the lockout shortened season, and injuries to Sprewell and Patrick Ewing, the team had to build chemistry on the fly, and barely made the playoffs with a 27-23 record. New York had to win six of its remaining eight games just to qualify.^[2]

The Knicks attempted to defy expectations against the top-seeded Miami Heat in the First Round and took two of the first three games, including a 20-point blowout in game one. With a chance to win the series at home in Game 4, the Knicks squandered an eight-point lead and the Heat came charging back to win 87-72 to set up a decisive Game 5. Game 5 was a defensive struggle all the way, but Miami held a one-point lead with only a 2.7 seconds left. However, shooting guard Allan Houston hit one of the biggest shots in Knicks' history, as his running one-hander indecisively bounced on the rim before falling with 0.8 seconds in play to give New York a thrilling 78-77 victory.^[3]

The Knicks cruised past the Atlanta Hawks in a second round sweep as Camby, who had struggled through most of the regular season, emerged as one of the key players off a deep Knicks bench. Camby's 11 points and 13 rebounds in Game 2 of the Atlanta series proved to be his coming-out party, as the Knicks advanced to the Conference Finals to meet a familiar foe, Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers.^[4]

However, the Knicks would lose Ewing after Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Ewing had been battling through an Achilles injury, but it was learned that the tendon (which he had played on in Game 2) was partially torn, and he would be forced to miss the rest of the playoffs.^[5] The Knicks were rescued by Larry Johnson in Game 3. Standing outside the three-point line with 11.9 seconds left, Johnson held the ball, and then began to dribble. He leaned into defender Antonio Davis before jumping up. The referee called the foul about a half-second before Johnson released the ball, but it was counted as a continuation shooting foul. The three-point basket and the ensuing free throw gave the Knicks a 92-91 victory.^[6]

The Knicks would stamp their ticket to the NBA finals with a 90-82 in Game 6, despite losing Larry Johnson to a knee injury in the first half. Led by Houston's 32-point performance and defense against Miller (3-18 shooting), the Knicks closed out the Pacers. The Knicks' 27-23 record was the worst for a team to reach the Finals since Houston did it with a 40-42 in 1981.^[7]

In the finals, the Knicks were halted in five games against the San Antonio Spurs. Completely overmatched by the Spurs' height with Tim Duncan and David Robinson, the Knicks lost at home with a 78-77 loss in Game 5 despite Sprewell's 35 points. For the series, Sprewell averaged 26.0 points and Houston 21.6.^[8]

Offseason

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
2	38	DeMarco Johnson	PF		UNC Charlotte
2	44	Sean Marks	PF		California

Transactions

On 6/25/98: Knicks traded Charles Oakley and Sean Marks to the Toronto Raptors for Marcus Camby^[9]

On 1/18/99: Knicks traded John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings to the Golden State Warriors for Latrell Sprewell ^[10]

Roster

1998–99 New York Knicks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY–MM–DD)
PG	9	Brunson, Rick	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Temple
C	23	Camby, Marcus	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Massachusetts
PG	1	Childs, Chris	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Boise State
PF	4	Davis, Ben	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Arizona
C	14	Dudley, Chris	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Yale
C	33	Ewing, Patrick	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Georgetown
SG	20	Houston, Allan	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Tennessee
PF	2	Johnson, Larry	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	UNLV
SF	8	Sprewell, Latrell	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Alabama
PF	40	Thomas, Kurt	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Texas Christian
PG	21	Ward, Charlie	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Florida State
C	32	Williams, Herb	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	242 lb (110 kg)	Ohio State
SG	25	Wingate, David	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Georgetown

Head coach

Jeff Van Gundy

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Patrick Ewing	Marcus Camby	Chris Dudley	Herb Williams
PF	Larry Johnson	Kurt Thomas		Ben Davis
SF	Latrell Sprewell
SG	Allan Houston		Rick Brunson David Wingate
PG	Charlie Ward	Chris Childs

Regular season

Season Standings

Eastern Conference

**Atlantic Division**
Team	W	L	PCT	GB
Miami Heat	33	17	.660	-
Orlando Magic	33	17	.660	-
Philadelphia 76ers	28	22	.560	5
New York Knicks - E	27	23	.540	6
Boston Celtics	19	31	.380	14
Washington Wizards	18	32	.360	15
New Jersey Nets	16	34	.320	17

**Central Division**
Team	W	L	PCT	GB
Indiana Pacers	33	17	.660	-
Atlanta Hawks	31	19	.620	2
Detroit Pistons	29	21	.580	4
Milwaukee Bucks	28	22	.560	5
Charlotte Hornets	26	24	.520	7
Toronto Raptors	23	27	.460	10
Cleveland Cavaliers	22	28	.440	11
Chicago Bulls	13	37	.260	20

Western Conference

**Midwest Division**
Team	W	L	PCT	GB
San Antonio Spurs - C	37	13	.740	-
Utah Jazz	37	13	.740	-
Houston Rockets	31	19	.620	6
Minnesota Timberwolves	25	25	.500	12
Dallas Mavericks	19	31	.380	18
Denver Nuggets	14	36	.280	23
Vancouver Grizzlies	8	42	.160	29

**Pacific Division**
Team	W	L	PCT	GB
Portland Trail Blazers	35	15	.700	-
Los Angeles Lakers	31	19	.620	4
Sacramento Kings	27	23	.540	8
Phoenix Suns	27	23	.540	8
Seattle SuperSonics	25	25	.500	10
Golden State Warriors	21	29	.420	14
Los Angeles Clippers	9	41	.180	26

C - NBA Champions E - Eastern Conference Champions

Schedule

Feb.
Feb. 5  Orlando 93, New York 85 (0-1)            
Feb. 7  Miami 83, New York 79 (0-2)              
Feb. 10         New York 101, Washington 88 (1-2)                
Feb. 11         New York 73, Chicago 68 (2-2)            
Feb. 15         New York 78, Detroit 69 (3-2)            
Feb. 16         New York 95, Toronto 85 (4-2)            
Feb. 18         Cleveland 98, New York 74 (4-3)          
Feb. 19         New York 78, Philadelphia 67 (5-3)               
Feb. 21         New York 79, Chicago 63 (6-3)            
Feb. 23         New York 82, New Jersey 74 (7-3)                 
Feb. 25         New York 115, Minnesota 113 (8-3)                
Feb. 26         Boston 94, New York 80 (8-4)             
Feb. 28         Detroit 89, New York 68 (8-5)            
 
Mar.
Mar. 1  New York 85, Cleveland 78 (9-5)          
Mar. 2  Miami 85, New York 84 (9-6)              
Mar. 5  Milwaukee 88, New York 87 (9-7)          
Mar. 7  New York 97, New Jersey 86 (10-7)                
Mar. 9  Milwaukee 87, New York 86 (10-8)                 
Mar. 11         New York 98, Washington 86 (11-8)                
Mar. 12         Chicago 76, New York 63 (11-9)           
Mar. 14         New York 94, Charlotte 86 (12-9)                 
Mar. 15         New York 108, Milwaukee 102 (13-9)               
Mar. 16         New York 113, Los Angeles Clippers 89 (14-9)             
Mar. 18         Orlando 86, New York 78 (14-10)          
Mar. 20         New York 96, Boston 78 (15-10)           
Mar. 21         Toronto 85, New York 81 (15-11)          
Mar. 22         Atlanta 80, New York 71 (15-12)                  
Mar. 24         Sacramento 92, New York 91 (15-13)               
Mar. 26         New York 94, Phoenix 87 (16-13)          
Mar. 28         Los Angeles Lakers 99, New York 91 (16-14)               
Mar. 30         New York 94, Indiana 93 (17-14)          
 
Apr.
Apr. 1  New York 78, Cleveland 74 (18-14)                
Apr. 4  Indiana 108, New York 95 (18-15)                 
Apr. 6  Orlando 81, New York 72 (18-16)          
Apr. 7  Charlotte 106, New York 82 (18-17)               
Apr. 9  New York 86, Atlanta 78 (19-17)          
Apr. 11         New York 93, New Jersey 78 (20-17)               
Apr. 13         New York 91, Philadelphia 72 (21-17)             
Apr. 14         Washington 95, New York 89 (21-18)               
Apr. 16         Detroit 80, New York 71 (21-19)          
Apr. 17         Toronto 93, New York 90 (21-20)                  
Apr. 19         Philadelphia 72, New York 67 (21-21)             
Apr. 23         New York 110, Charlotte 105 (22-21)              
Apr. 25         New York 82, Miami 80 (23-21)            
Apr. 26         New York 91, Charlotte 84 (24-21)                
Apr. 28         Atlanta 76, New York 73 (24-22)          
Apr. 29         New York 85, Philadelphia 70 (25-22)             
 
May
May 2           Indiana 94, New York 71 (25-23)          
May 3           New York 95, Boston 88 (26-23)           
May 5           New York 101, Miami 88 (27-23)

Statistics

Player     G       MPG     FG%     3p%     FT%     REB     APG     SPG     BPG     TO      PF      PPG
Ewing           38      34.2    .435    .000    .706    9.90    1.1     .79     2.63    2.61    2.80    17.3
Sprewell        37      33.3    .415    .273    3.10    4.20    2.5     1.24    .05     2.14    1.80    16.4
Houston         50      36.3    .418    .407    .862    3.00    2.7     .70     .18     2.60    2.30    16.3
Johnson         49      33.4    .459    .359    .817    5.80    2.4     .69     .20     1.82    3.00    12.0
Thomas  50      23.6    .462    .000    .611    5.70    1.1     .90     .34     1.46    3.20    8.1
Ward            50      31.1    .404    .356    .705    3.40    5.4     2.06    .16     2.62    2.10    7.6
Camby           46      20.5    .521    .000    .553    5.50    .3      .63     1.61    .85     2.80    7.2
Childs  48      27.0    .427    .383    .821    2.80    4.0     .92     .02     1.77    3.30    6.8
Dudley  46      14.9    .440    .000    .475    4.20    .2      .28     .83     .52     2.50    2.5
Davis           8       2.6     .412    .000    .500    1.40    .4      .00     .00     .13     .50     2.1
Williams        6       5.7     .500    .000    1.000   1.00    .0      .00     .33     .33     .30     1.7
Brunson         17      5.6     .286    .000    .278    .60     1.1     .53     .00     .71     .50     1.0
Wingate         20      4.6     .438    .000    .000    .40     .3      .20     .00     .30     .50     .7
Team Averages   50      242.0   .435    .353    .732    41.2    19.3    7.9     5.2     16.1    22.8    86.4
Opponents       50      242.0   .403    .353    .733    40.8    18.5    8.5     4.3     15.3    20.7    85.4

Playoffs

East First Round

(1) Miami Heat vs. (8) New York Knicks: Knicks win series 3-2

Game 1 @ Miami Arena, Miami (May 8): New York 95, Miami 75
Game 2 @ Miami Arena, Miami (May 10): Miami 83, New York 73
Game 3 @ Madison Square Garden, New York City (May 12): New York 97, Miami 73
Game 4 @ Madison Square Garden, New York City (May 14): Miami 87, New York 72
Game 5 @ Miami Arena, Miami (May 16): New York 78, Miami 77

Last Playoff Meeting: 1998 Eastern Conference First Round (New York won 3-2)

East Conference Semifinals

(4) Atlanta Hawks vs. (8) New York Knicks: Knicks win series 4-0

Game 1 @ Georgia Dome, Atlanta (May 18): New York 100, Atlanta 92
Game 2 @ Georgia Dome, Atlanta (May 20): New York 77, Atlanta 70
Game 3 @ Madison Square Garden, New York City (May 23): New York 90, Atlanta 78
Game 4 @ Madison Square Garden, New York City (May 24): New York 79, Atlanta 66

Last Playoff Meeting: 1971 Eastern Conference Semifinals (New York won 4-0)

East Conference Finals

(2) Indiana Pacers vs. (8) New York Knicks: Knicks win series 4-2

Game 1 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (May 30): New York 93, Indiana 90
Game 2 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (June 1): Indiana 88, New York 86
Game 3 @ Madison Square Garden, New York City (June 5): New York 92, Indiana 91
Game 4 @ Madison Square Garden, New York City (June 7): Indiana 90, New York 78
Game 5 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (June 9): New York 101, Indiana 94
Game 6 @ Madison Square Garden, New York City (June 11): New York 90, Indiana 82

Last Playoff Meeting: 1998 Eastern Conference Semifinals (New York won 4-2)

NBA Finals

(W1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (E8) New York Knicks: Spurs win series 4-1

Game 1 @ Alamodome, San Antonio (June 16): San Antonio 89, New York 77
Game 2 @ Alamodome, San Antonio (June 18): San Antonio 80, New York 67
Game 3 @ Madison Square Garden, New York City (June 21): New York 89, San Antonio 81
Game 4 @ Madison Square Garden, New York City (June 23): San Antonio 96, New York 89
Game 5 @ Madison Square Garden, New York City (June 25): San Antonio 78, New York 77

Playoff Statistics

NAME       G  MIN  FG%   FT%  3FG 3GA  TRB  AST STL  TO BLK  PF AVG
Sprewell  20  743  .419  .850   4  25   96   43  19  58   6  40 20.4
Houston   20  783  .443  .883   9  36   54   51   8  50   1  40 18.5
Ewing     11  347  .430  .778   0   0   96    6   7  10   8  35 13.1
Johnson   20  683  .426  .674  24  82   97   31  21  33   1  64 11.5
Camby     20  509  .566  .616   0   1   153   6  24  15  38  76 10.4
Thomas    20  419  .381  .696   0   0   110   7  15  19  12  76  5.3
Childs    20  494  .355  .731   9  28   47   73  13  30   1  64  4.7
Ward      20  494  .366  .750  18  56   46   75  35  24   3  45  4.6
Dudley    18  294  .421  .393   0   0   82    5   9   9   8  63  2.4
Brunson   9   18   .400 1.000   0   0   1     2   0   4   0   3  0.7
Williams  8   16   .200   ---   0   0   3     0   0   0   0   3  0.3

References

[1] 1998-99 New York Knicks

[2] ttp://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B04E2D91331F931A25751C1A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all

[3] ttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/1999/playoffs/eastern/news/1999/05/16/knicks_heat_game5/index.html

[4] ttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/1999/playoffs/eastern/news/1999/05/20/knicks_hawks/

[5] ttp://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CEED71E30F930A35755C0A96F958260

[6] ttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/1999/playoffs/eastern/news/1999/06/05/pacers_knicks_game3/

[7] ttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/1999/playoffs/eastern/news/1999/06/11/pacers_knicks_game6/index.html

[8] ttp://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E3DE133AF935A15755C0A96F958260

[9] ttp://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/06/25/archive/main12612.shtml

[10] ttp://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1999/01/18/archive/main29035.shtml

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v t e New York Knicks
Founded in 1946 Based in New York City, New York
Franchise	History All-time roster Draft history Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	Madison Square Garden III 69th Regiment Armory Madison Square Garden IV
Personnel	Owner(s) Madison Square Garden Sports (James Dolan, chairman) President Leon Rose General manager Vacant Head coach Tom Thibodeau
G League affiliate	Westchester Knicks
Retired numbers	10 12 15 15 19 22 24 33 613
NBA Championships	1970 1973
Rivalries	Boston Celtics Brooklyn Nets Chicago Bulls Indiana Pacers Miami Heat
Culture and lore	Broadcasters Dancing Harry Eddie Spike Lee Diedrich Knickerbocker Whatever Happened to Micheal Ray? Theme from New York, New York Mike Walczewski George Kalinsky Trent Tucker Rule Disputed foul against Scottie Pippen June 17th, 1994 Knicks–Nuggets brawl Linsanity Sweetwater

1998–99 New York Knicks season

Contents

Recap

Offseason

NBA Draft

Transactions

Roster

Depth chart

Regular season

Season Standings

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Schedule

Statistics

Playoffs

East First Round

East Conference Semifinals

East Conference Finals

NBA Finals

Playoff Statistics

See also

References

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