NBA Playoffs Greatest Moments: Starks to the Rack

May 25, 1993 – It was the annual Knicks-Bulls battle. Game 2 of the '93 Conference Finals, to be exact. And as always, it was a tight affair going into the final minute; Knicks up three.  However, the game was decided when Knicks guard John Starks turned the right corner from a Patrick Ewing pick-and-roll. The cavalry arrived in the form of Horace Grant and Michael Jordan. Starks went over both Grant and Jordan with his left hand, reaching for the rafters to throw down the most famous dunk in Knickerbocker history.

The dunk helped to seal a 96-91 victory and a 2-0 series lead for the Knicks, which raised New York's hopes that they were on their way to dethroning the two-time defending champions.  Though the replayed dunk would pump up many a future Garden crowd, it would be the high point of the series for New York. 

Eight day later, back at the Garden with the series now tied 2-2, another sequence under and above the basket would doom the Knicks' quest: four in-close attempts by Charles Smith in the closing seconds were denied.  The Bulls prevailed in Chicago in Game 6.

 

Back to top