EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS Knicks 93, Pacers 90

Reggie Miller had the shot he wanted from the spot he wanted, but this 3-pointer wouldn’t be a Knick killer.

Miller missed a 3-point shot from his favorite spot with 15 seconds left, and the New York Knicks defeated the Indiana Pacers 93-90 Sunday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

As they did in the first round against Miami and the second round against Atlanta, the Knicks wrested homecourt advantage away from their opponent in the first game of the series. Game 2 is Tuesday night at Market Square Arena.

In a physical, back-and-forth game, Miller had a chance to put the Pacers ahead when he freed himself along the baseline and got open at the elbow of the 3-point line with 15 seconds left. His shot was short, the Knicks rebounded and went ahead 92-88 on two free throws by Chris Childs with 12.4 seconds left.

Indiana had one more chance to tie after Childs made only one of two from the line with 6.5 seconds left, but Mark Jackson shot an airball from the corner just before the final buzzer.

It was the team-record sixth straight playoff win for the Knicks, who got 19 points from Allan Houston, 16 each from Patrick Ewing and Latrell Sprewell and 15 from Larry Johnson. New York also posted its fourth straight postseason road win.

Miller had 19 points to lead the Pacers, who trailed for much of the game as Rik Smits (4-for-12), Jackson (1-for-8) and Jalen Rose (4-for-12) had trouble getting untracked offensively.

The Pacers finished 3-for-9 from 3-point range.

“For the most part we guarded the 3-point line well, which is critical for us,” Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said.

The Knicks tied their season-low by committing just eight turnovers and went 9-for-10 from the foul line over the final 93 seconds.

Indiana trailed throughout the fourth quarter until Smits hit a jump hook with 4:42 left, just his second basket of the game, to tie it 78-all. Miller hit a 3-pointer 40 seconds later after the Knicks had gone back up by one.

Sprewell missed a jumper on the Knicks’ next possession and argued that a foul should have been called, and Smits hit a jumper from 15 feet to make it 83-79. Childs answered with a 3-pointer, but Smits hit a turnaround and two free throws to bump the lead back to five before New York scored the next six points to go ahead 88-87.

Jackson tied the game by making one of two free throw with 31 seconds left, and Ewing put the Knicks up 90-88 by swishing two in a row from the line with 29 seconds left.

That set the stage for Miller to put the Pacers ahead, but it wasn’t to be.

The Knicks started running from the moment Sprewell entered the game. Sprewell had a steal and fast-break layup, then pushed the ball upcourt and fed Johnson for a 3-pointer that gave the Knicks their first lead, 16-13, and the lead would grow to nine before Indiana pulled to 25-21 at the end of one quarter.

The Knicks went more than five minutes without a point to start the second quarter, and Indiana took a brief lead on a jumper by Rose that made it 26-25 with 7:48 left. Sprewell scored on another fast break, putting New York ahead 29-28, and the Knicks stayed in front until Chris Mullin scored his first basket of the game early in the third.

Indiana then held the lead until shortly after Sprewell checked back into the game, and Sprewell had six points over the final 4:49 of the quarter as the Knicks closed with a 17-8 run to take a 70-63 lead into the fourth. Associated Press