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1994–95 New York Knicks season

The 1994–95 New York Knicks season was the 49th season for the Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Knicks entered the season as runner-ups of the 1994 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Houston Rockets in seven games. During the off-season, the Knicks acquired Doug Christie from the Los Angeles Lakers. In the 1994 NBA draft, the team selected small forward Monty Williams out of Notre Dame University with the 24th overall pick, and selected point guard Charlie Ward out of Florida State University with the 26th overall pick. However, Christie only played twelve games, because of an ankle injury, and Ward only played ten games due to a wrist injury. In December, the team released Doc Rivers to free agency; Rivers later signed as a free agent with the San Antonio Spurs. The Knicks had a 12–12 start to the season, but then won 17 of their next 19 games, held a 30–16 record at the All-Star break, and posted a 55–27 record in the Atlantic Division. They finished in second place, two games behind the top-seeded Orlando Magic. By earning the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks qualified for the NBA playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.

Patrick Ewing averaged 23.9 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting, and was selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, while John Starks averaged 15.3 points and 5.1 assists per game, and led the league with 217 three-point field goals, becoming the first player ever to reach up to 200 three-pointers in a single season. In addition, Charles D. Smith provided the team with 12.7 points and 1.3 blocks per game, while Derek Harper averaged 11.5 points and 5.7 assists per game, and sixth man Anthony Mason averaged 9.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game off the bench, and was named Sixth Man of the Year. Charles Oakley only played just 50 games this season due to a toe injury, averaging 10.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, and three-point specialist Hubert Davis contributed 10.0 points per game off the bench.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1995 NBA Playoffs, the Knicks defeated the 6th–seeded Cleveland Cavaliers three games to one, advancing to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. In the Semi-finals, the Knicks faced off against the 2nd–seeded Indiana Pacers for the third consecutive year; despite the Pacers being the #2 seed in the East, the Knicks had home-court advantage in this series, since they had a better regular-season record than the Pacers. The Pacers defeated the Knicks in Game 1, 107–105, as Reggie Miller scored eight points in the final 18.7 seconds to bring the Pacers back from a six-point deficit. The Pacers gained a 3–1 series edge, before the Knicks won two straight games to force a seventh game at Madison Square Garden. With the Knicks down by two points in the final seconds, Ewing had a chance to send the game to overtime, but missed his driving layup attempt, as the Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.

Following the season, Pat Riley quit as head coach to take over the coaching job with the Miami Heat, while Greg Anthony was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA Expansion Draft, where he was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies expansion team, and Anthony Bonner was released to free agency, and left to play overseas in Italy.

NBA draft

Roster

Season standings

Division

Conference

Notes

z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
y – Clinched division title
x – Clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and honors

Patrick Ewing was named Player of the Week for games played January 15 through January 22.
Patrick Ewing was named Player of the Month for January.
Patrick Ewing was selected as a reserve for the Eastern Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his ninth All-Star selection.
Anthony Mason received the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.
John Starks led the league in three-point field goals with 217.
John Starks led the league in three-point field goal attempts with 611.