NEW YORK (AP) -- If Jeff Van Gundy kept his word and watched the game on television, there's no doubt he was on the edge of his easy chair at the end.
On the day they learned that Van Gundy had unexpectedly resigned as head coach, the New York Knicks survived a fourth-quarter flurry led by Reggie Miller and defeated the Indiana Pacers 101-99 Saturday night.
``It was a draining day,'' Mark Jackson said. ``It says a lot about then guys on this team and the coaching staff that we found a way to come away with a victory.''
The Knicks learned first thing in the morning that Van Gundy had resigned, saying he had lost his focus and had been thinking of quitting since the summer. Van Gundy said he was going to go home, take a nap and then watch the game on TV.
Don Chaney coached in his place, and New York came away with its sixth victory in seven games.
Marcus Camby had 18 points and 22 rebounds before making a boneheaded play with 11.3 seconds left that gave Indiana one last chance to go for a tie or the win. Latrell Sprewell led New York with 25 points, Allan Houston added 18 and Kurt Thomas had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
``I'm still a little stunned. It caught everybody off guard. No one really expected it,'' Sprewell said. ``I just don't understand why. I haven't talked to him yet and I just wonder why.''
Jermaine O'Neal led Indiana with 22 points but missed a tying shot just before the final buzzer.
Miller missed nine of his first 10 shots but then hit four jumpers in a row -- two of them 3-pointers -- to pull the Pacers to 91-89 with 5:05 left before Jamaal Tinsley tied it with a short turnaround from the lane.
Miller hit his next shot, too, another 3-pointer that gave the Pacers a 96-94 lead, but Jackson hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 46 seconds left to put the Knicks ahead 99-98.
The Pacers pushed the ball upcourt and Al Harrington missed a rushed shot, and Camby slammed home a miss by Houston to make it 101-98. Tinsley missed one of two free throws with 11.3 seconds left, and Camby threw a baseball pass all the way downcourt and out of bounds on the ensuing inbounds play.
The Pacers regained possession under their own basket and got the ball to Miller for a 3-pointer that missed with 7 seconds left.
``It was a case of missing it,'' Miller said. ``A wide-open shot, you miss it.''
The ball went out of bounds off New York with 5.2 seconds left to give the Pacers one last chance. Jalen Rose got the ball to O'Neal for a driving layup, but the shot missed as time expired.
``They didn't have anything to lose,'' Rose said. ``I don't know how strongly they feel about whether Chaney keeps the job or any other ulterior motive, but they came out and got the job done.''
The Knicks still looked stunned by the day's events as they took the floor before the opening tipoff, and the Pacers caught the Knicks on their heels by beating them downcourt for three early fast-break layups.
The Knicks also missed three consecutive wide-open layups early in the second quarter, but they closed the period with as 14-6 run to take a 45-37 halftime lead.
New York's lead reached 17 when Sprewell hit a 3-pointer with 6:23 left in the third, but Indiana scored the next 10 points and closed to 73-66 enteringthe fourth.
Feburary 22nd, 2001
Amazing. Simply Amazing. Today, I went with my good college friend Phil Rimmer to the Knicks game and let me tell you...Freakin' Amazing game! The game was tied with 29.0 seconds remaining, Knicks bring the ball downcourt. Latrell Sprewell get's the ball and get's the go ahead basket with 7.2 remaining. When he hit that, I got out of my seat, and ran down the stairs, like I did at the February 2nd game, and I jumped up and down and ran across the whole floor! I held up my hand and had the #1 as I said it lowly...One...One. It was amazing!
Feburary 2nd, 2001
Well it was a dispute between Mashburn and Spree. I can not really say who deserved it more. Out of all fairness I can't really say anything about that. What I can say is congratulations my man Spree. Knicks are playing like crap lately. Losing to 76ers was rather embarrasing in my opinion. There are games that they could lose, but the 76ers should have been a win game. Just to prove that they were force in the East they should have beat the 76ers. Knicks have a decent record right now, but in order to get the ring they better step it up big time the 2nd half of the season. - Jun from GA
December 17th, 2000
Words cannot describe the feeling of tonights game, as the Knicks hosted the Bucks at the Garden. I witnessed, an AMAZING fourth quarter comeback by the Knicks, down by 10 points with 3:11 to go. Okay, fast forward to the final seconds. Allan Houston has the ball up top, there are four seconds left...I'm thinking to myself. Shoot the damn ball Allan! He passes it to Erick Strickland in the corner. He let's it go. I'm thinking, please, please, please, make this shot. It felt like slow motion. The ball rattled in with .01 seconds left. I jumped up and ran down the aisle, jumped onto a railing and pumped my fists in the air, and then I ran up an entire flight of stairs and jumped into the stands. There was complete adrenaline running through my body! I was amazed by the shot. I was screaming, chanting LETS GO KNICKS, giving people high fives...Man, it was great. Great game so far. Best of the year. -Scott Goldberg-
November 28th, 2000
It's great that finally Glen Rice was able to get into the zone scoring 23 points including 5 three pointers. Yet the question still remains. We have 3 of the best shooters in the NBA, with Houston, Sprewell, and Rice. They average only about 80 some odd points and that's not what I'll call great. Van Gundy should try to figure out the way to utilize some more plays so the Knicks will not need to depend on those 3 all the time. Maybe put Longley (quite possibly one of the best white centers in the NBA next to Divac and ZKus... Bradley is big herb) and try to create some more scoring opportunities to Erick Strickland. Ward, Camby, and the newly reformed Kurt Thomas. Why is Blazers such a great team? It's only because they utilize all the players. Knicks have a great team and when they figure out how to use their players then Ring is definitely ours. Mark my words. - Jun from GA
November 24th, 2000
-GARDEN GETS AN UPGRADE-
I was able to attend the Knicks vs. Warriors Game tonight and I saw that Madison Square Garden got a new look right above center court. The screen at the top of the garden was new and I'm not totally sure yet, but it looked like a HUGE HDTV screen. That was nice to see.
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