New York Knicks: The 15 Biggest Playoff Gaffes in the Team's History

Plenty of NBA franchises have long and stories histories. Many have timelines dotted with numerous highs and some lows as well. 

The New York Knicks are a little different. 

Founded in 1946, the Knicks spent the first 23 years of their existence in search of a title. They finally got one in 1970 and then another in 1973. 

It's been cold turkey since then, though. If the Knicks don't win a title either this season or next season then they'll have hit the 40-year drought mark. 

The team has made the playoffs plenty of times, and they've made the NBA Finals twice since 1973. No rings though. That means there are plenty of seasons and playoff runs to look back on and plenty of tough losses and bad plays to regret and relive.

It won't be easy, but listed here in chronological order are some of the most memorable (or forgettable if you're a Knicks fan) playoff mishaps in team history. 

April 30, 2012: Amar'e Crashes the Glass

It was a terrible Game 1. Then the Knicks came out and played better in Game 2. Better, but not good enough to win. 

It was for sure a frustrating game, but that's no excuse for what happened afterward. 

Amar'e Stoudemire was on his way back to the locker room and in an effort to blow off some of the steam from the tough loss he made the ill-fated decision to punch what he thought was a plastic covering of a fire extinguisher. 

Too bad it was glass. 

Glass, of course, shatters—and shatter it did. The resulting cut required plenty of stitches and put Stoudemire in the bandage and shoulder sling you see above. It also caused Amar'e to miss Game 3. 

The series isn't over, but the odds are stacked pretty high against the Knicks and losing Amar'e Stoudemire for a game sure didn't help matters. 

April 28, 2012: The Whole Knicks Team Takes Game 1 off

The Knicks' 2011-2012 regular season was really a tale of two halves. 

There was "D'Antoni Time" and "Woodson Time."

D'Antoni Time featured 18 wins in 42 games. Woodson Time featured 18 wins also, but in only 24 games. 

Even with that being the case, Game 1 against the Miami Heat sure looked like a flashback to the bad old days of Mike D'Antoni. 

The Knicks looked like a team that had no interest in being on the court. They weren't just beat, they were crushed 100-67. There was no singular individual gaffe in this game. It was a team effort and it was a 48 minute one at that. 

April 19, 2011: Amar'e Stoudemire's Pregame Injury

To those fixated on the current drama surrounding Amar'e Stoudemire and his cut hand, it's worth mentioning that this isn't the first time he's injured himself while his New York Knicks were in the playoffs. 

Just last season for instance, Amar'e Stoudemire injured his back performing a thoroughly unnecessary dunk in the pregame layup line before Game 2 of the Knicks' opening-round series against the Boston Celtics. 

Stoudemire had to miss the second half of that game when the back stiffened up. He played in Game 3, but was largely ineffective, scoring seven points and grabbing just three rebounds in 32 minutes of playing time. 

Stoudemire returned for Game 4, but the Knicks lost to to the Celtics and were swept out of the playoffs. 

April 25, 2004: Knicks Get Swept by New Jersey

One of the more humiliating experiences for the Knicks and their fans was the 2004 playoffs. 

That's because not only did the Knicks get swept out of the first round without much of a fight, but the team responsible for this prompt playoff exit was none other than the hated cross-river rival New Jersey Nets. 

The Nets have always played second fiddle to the Knicks. 

Not in 2004, though. 

The Knicks came into the series as underdogs and did nothing to make anyone question that label. They were outplayed in four consecutive games, and the playoff losing streak was in full swing. 

April 22, 2001: Charlie Ward's Anti-Semitic Comments Overshaddow First Round

Charlie Ward was a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and a first-round draft pick in the NBA. He was also a very religious person—there's nothing wrong with that. 

Unless of course you allow your religious views to be publicly aired and they're viewed as somewhat anti-semetic by people. That's the predicament that Ward and the Knicks found themselves in leading up to their opening-round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors in 2001. 

The Raptors were led by Vince Carter who averaged over 27 points per game in 2000-2001. 

Ward, who was showing a New York Times reporter his ministry for his teammates, was discussing faith with the writer. 

"

, ''Jews are stubborn, E. But tell me, why did they persecute Jesus unless he knew something they didn't want to accept?''

''What?''

''They had his blood on their hands.''- New York Times 4/22/01

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Those comments cast a pall over the series—a series that the Knicks would lose in five games. Ward was booed when his name was announced to the home crowd before Game 1. It was clearly a distraction and it made an already difficult opening-round series more difficult.  

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April 30, 1998: Jeff Van Gundy (David) vs. Alonzo Mourning (Goliath)

Let the record reflect that Alonzo Mourning is 6'10", 261 pounds and Jeff Van Gundy is 5'9" and not even close to 200 pounds. 

This gaffe wasn't that harmful to the Knicks, who won both the game and the playoff series, but it could have been harmful to Van Gundy. 

It was late in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, and the Knicks were winning. The two franchises had a history of fighting and physical play and as the game wound down, Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning started to square off. 

Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy didn't want a fight to get out of hand, so he tried to get between the two men. But that didn't work and when he was shoved aside, rather than retreating to let teammates and officials break up the melee, he took an unconventional route as seen in the clip above. 

May 14, 1997: Knicks Leave Bench and Get Game 6 off

In 1997 the New York Knicks and Miami Heat met in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Knicks appeared to be in control of the series. 

That is, until Game 5 when Charlie Ward and P.J. Brown got entangled under the basket. What appeared to be somewhat incidental contact quickly escalated into a full-on brawl, and when key members of the Knicks made the ill-fated decision to leave the bench to participate in the melee, they inadvertently doomed their own team. 

For leaving the bench Allan Houston, Patrick Ewing, John Starks and Larry Johnson all received one-game suspensions. 

Miami won Games 6 and 7 easily and advanced to the conference finals. 

May 21, 1995: One Thing Patrick Ewing Can't Do Is Finger Roll

This series started with the gaffe-filled final seconds of Game 1 paired with Reggie Miller's shooting. 

It ended with the Knicks' franchise player Patrick Ewing missing a wide-open finger roll that would have sent Game 7 to overtime. Instead, the Knicks went home and the Pacers moved on to the Eastern Conference Finals to face Orlando.

May 7, 1995: Anthony Mason, John Starks and Reggie Miller Make Memories

Knicks-Pacers has provided many memorable moments and games. Not many can top game one of the 1995 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. 

The Pacers roared back to stun the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. It's hard to blame the Knicks for the miraculous shooting displayed by Reggie Miller who scored the final eight points of the game in the last 18.6 seconds. 

It's not hard to find fault with Anthony Mason and Greg Anthony who botched an inbounds play. It's especially not hard to find fault with John Starks who missed not one but two free throws in the closing seconds. 

Check out the footage above. Miller is amazing but the Knicks are stuck is a series of mishaps all of which led to a memorable finish for NBA Fans. 

June 22, 1994: John Starks 48 Minute Game 7Gaffe

To be fair John Starks only played 42 minutes in Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals. 

What a 42 minutes they were, though. 

All season long Starks had provided near instant offense for the Knicks. He could shoot, he could dunk, he was brash and fun to watch. 

In Game 7, he was brash, but that's about it. Starks stunk. In the deciding game of a series that the Knicks led three games to two at one point, Starks finished the game just 2-of-18 from the field and 0-11 from three-point range. Throw in his five fouls, and this was a game-long gaffe that cost Starks and the Knicks a ring. 

June 19, 1994: Starks Takes the Dream for Granted

The Knicks had plenty of chances to win the 1994 Finals. Up 3-2 in the series, New York was down 86-84 in the closing seconds of Game 6. 

They still had the ball and time to run a play, and they chose to set a high pick-and-roll to free John Starks up for what would have been a series winning three-point shot. 

The only problem was that John Starks forgot to take the other-worldly athleticism of Hakeem Olajuwon into account. 

That would prove costly as Olajuwon exploded off the pick towards Starks, who was already in the process of shooting. 

He was able to get enough of his fingers on the ball to alter the shot. That gave the Rockets a win in Game 6 and would eventually play a key role in the Rockets winning the series. 

June 1, 1994: Spike Lee Taunts Reggie Miller

It was the 1994 NBA Playoffs, and for the first time since the late 1970's the NBA was experiencing a postseason without Magic Johnson, Larry Bird or Michael Jordan. 

The league needed heroes, and the Knicks had players like John Starks, Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley. 

The Indiana Pacers had Reggie Miller. The Eastern Conference Finals were a showdown between the Pacers and Knicks. The Knicks won Games 1 and 2. The Pacers took Games 3 and 4. That set up a pivotal Game 5 in New York City. 

The Knicks had a 70-58 lead entering the fourth quarter, but Reggie Miller, with a little extra inspiration from Knicks super-fan Spike Lee, shocked the Garden and torched the Knicks for 25 fourth quarter points. 

June 2, 1993: Charles Smith Misses a Layup (Several Times)

With Chicago winning Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Game 5 was one that both teams would really want. 

It was played back in New York City, and it was a tight game all the way through. With the Bulls clinging to a 95-94 lead, the Knicks had the ball with under 20 seconds remaining. The Knicks got the ball into the paint, and Charles Smith had numerous chances to make a layup that would have given the Knicks a lead. As you can see from the video above, it never happened.  

May 31, 1993: Jordan Swings Series Momentum

When the Knicks met the Bulls in the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals, it was hyped as a series that was between arguably the NBA's two best teams. 

After all, the Knicks had the best record in the East at 60-22 and the Bulls had the second best record at 57-25. Chicago was also the defending NBA Champs and, oh by the way, they had Michael Jordan. 

The Knicks took Games 1 and 2 and headed back to Chicago with every intention of finishing off the defending champs. 

Not so fast. 

Chicago won Game 3 to set up a pivotal Game 4 showdown. A Knicks' win would put Chicago in a 3-1 hole and meaning they'd have to win the final two games of the series on the road to advance to the Finals. 

If the Bulls won, then it became a best-of-three series. 

Michael Jordan was not going to allow the Bulls to lose this game. Not in front of the home crowd in Chicago.

Jordan was dominant, even by his lofty standards. He was 18-of-30 from the floor and 12-of-14 from the free-throw line. Jordan finished with 54 points and the Knicks went on to lose the next two games. 

April 29, 2001- May 6, 2012: The 13-Game Losing Streak

Some details of this streak have already been revealed, but the streak itself is noteworthy. 

It's the longest playoff losing streak in NBA history and the Knicks have it all to themselves. From the win against the Toronto Raptors on April 29, 2001 all the way to the win over Miami this past Sunday May 6th, the Knicks have been total postseason losers. 

With the streak mercifully coming to an end, the Knicks would very much like to start a winning streak in the postseason. 

That seems like a stretch with a roster decimated by injuries. The guard positions in particular were very weak. 

On Wednesday night the Knicks will play either Toney Douglas or Mike Bibby at point guard. I'd expect the two players to both have solid games, but it won't be enough. Would a loss on Wednesday night signal the start of another playoff losing streak?

Knicks fans sure hope not.