1998–99 New York Knicks season

The 1998-99 New York Knicks season was the 52nd season of NBA basketball in New York City, New York. 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.^[1]

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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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.^[4] 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.^[5]

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.^[6]

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.^[7]

Offseason

NBA Draft

Transactions

• On 6/25/98: Knicks traded Charles Oakley and Sean Marks to the Toronto Raptors for Marcus Camby^[8]

• On 1/18/99: Knicks traded John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings to the Golden State Warriors for Latrell Sprewell ^[9]

Roster

Players

Depth chart

Regular season

Season Standings

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

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

Schedule

May 8 		New York 95, Miami 75 	 	 
May 10 	Miami 83, New York 73 	 	 
May 12 	New York 97, Miami 73 	 	 
May 14 	Miami 87, New York 72 	 	 
May 16 	New York 78, Miami 77 	 	 
May 18 	New York 100, Atlanta 92 	 	 
May 20 	New York 77, Atlanta 70 	 	 
May 23 	New York 90, Atlanta 78 	 	 
May 24 	New York 79, Atlanta 66 	 	 
May 30 	New York 93, Indiana 90 	 	 
 
June
June 1 	Indiana 88, New York 86 	 	 
June 5 	New York 92, Indiana 91 	 	 
June 7 	Indiana 90, New York 78 	 	 
June 9 	New York 101, Indiana 94 	 	 
June 11 	New York 90, Indiana 82 	 	 
June 16 	San Antonio 89, New York 77 	 	 
June 18 	San Antonio 80, New York 67 	 	 
June 21 	New York 89, San Antonio 81 	 	 
June 23 	San Antonio 96, New York 89 	 	 
June 25 	San Antonio 78, New York 77

Bracket

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

See also

• 1998-99 NBA season
• 1999 NBA Finals
• 1999 NBA Playoffs

References

• Knicks on Database Basketball
• Knicks on Basketball Reference