Reggie Miller trolled New York Knicks fans after the Indiana Pacers won the second-round series. The former Pacers legend now wants his former foes to leave him alone.
A seven-game series between the Pacers and Knicks conjured memories of a heated 1990s rivalry fueled by Miller. TNT embraced that history when having Miller calling a Game 2 that ended with the Madison Square Garden crowd serenading him with an unfriendly chant. (Josh Hart was sure Miller heard them correctly.)
Tyrese Haliburton wore a hoodie with Miller’s infamous joke gesture directed to Knicks fans after Sunday’s Game 7 triumph. Miller also got the last laugh when telling a banged-up Knicks roster that they “can all heal up” in Cancun.
But on Wednesday, the broadcaster tried to remove himself from the storyline.
“Can I just say something? People, I didn’t play in the series, New Yorkers,” Miller said on The Dan Patrick Show (h/t Awful Announcing). “Why are y’all dragging me? I didn’t play in the series. How am I a part of all of this?
“I came to do Game 2 because that was asked of me. My bosses said, ‘We want you doing this game.’ We all have bosses, right Theodore? I can’t say no. I called the game down the middle. How am I dragged in to like I’m out there playing Game 7?”
Miller said he expected a hostile reaction from Knicks fans while working Game 2 at MSG. He then used “we” when describing the Pacers before repeating that he’s not part of the team.
“My boys from Indiana, thank you. My young boys handled their business in Game 7, and we moved on,” Miller said. “But I wasn’t playing in the series, guys. I’m 58 years old. I had nothing to do with the series.”
However, Miller couldn’t resist taking another shot at the Knicks when Patrick joked about them needing a shooter like him.
“The Knicks could’ve used our shooting,” Miller told Patrick. “I’ve seen you shoot. The Knicks could’ve used us. Oh man, that’s bad. Seriously, I feel for them.”