Game Four of the 2000 NBA Finals — The NBA Finals Revivals
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Indiana Pacers Game Four
Location: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
Date: June 14, 2000
Starting line-ups:
Indiana Pacers
Reggie Miller
Jalen Rose
Mark Jackson
Dale Davis
Rik Smits
Head Coach — Larry Bird
LA Lakers
Shaquille O’Neal
Kobe Bryant
Glen Rice
A.C. Green
Ron Harper
Head Coach — Phil Jackson
And we’re back for Game four! And let’s not bury the lead here… This is the best game of the series (so far!). But, as usual, Jim Gray kicks us off with an odd pre-game moment that took place — The Pacers arrived in their locker room to find a note pinned to the wall. The note is from ‘Veteran Guard’ Ron Harper. And this sweet sonnet turns out to be a poisoned poem about, um, the rafters, I suppose:
“It’s a nice roof, lots of interesting beams. But no championship banners. And they’re not going to get one either unless they steal one from some other team.”
Um, okay Harps. A weird power play here. One that actually feels more like a backfire than anything. Y’know when a boxer smiles after getting socked right in the face. The smile is meant to show that it didn’t affect them. But, in fact, that smile is absolutely signaling to their opponent that it did hurt and they are “saving face” (If they wanted to save face, literally, I would recommend blocking! (We’re starting early with this nonsense, ain’t we)).
Anyway, they asked Mark Jackson about it: “It’s garbage. Absolute garbage… We don’t need that for motivation. We’re going to beat them without the quotes.” Let’s see if the Pacer point guard’s prediction holds up!
Also, Kobe is baaaack! And he is starting as well. LA is testing Kobe’s ankle early to see how it plays. And looking at the last game, the Lakers could certainly use him.
Alright, let’s do this!
After the tip-off, Miller hits his first 3. He has been hot and cold this whole series, so we’ll see if this is a sign of things to come. Or just a fluke.
Right away, the Lakers get a 3-second violation. This is the kind of stuff that crushed them in the last game. Well, this and Shaq’s free throws. They throw up a stat saying that Shaq has missed 32 free throws over the last few games. Now, if Shaq had actually made all of those free throws, he would be averaging 51 points per game. 💪
But let’s be realistic, he’s no Ricky Smits, who is 10–29 in FGs for the series! Yikes!
Oh, and I gotta say, the game tape available on the League Pass is terrible. It’s like I forgot my glasses. But I don’t wear glasses, so why is this so fuzzy? Maybe it was just a bad copy. I can’t imagine this is what the live broadcast was back in 2000.
Standard stuff so far in the first. Oh, Smits does have a bloody nose. He is zipping up the court with some tissue dangling out.
And Rice gets an And 1 for a three-point play. Rose wasn’t happy about it. In fact, he was so mad, he did a jumping splits 😅
Hold the phone! Smits is coming out the gate HOT! He is 4 for 4 in the 1st. Maybe the bloody nose is key? Like the Bayonne Bleeder, Chuck Wepner — a boxer that is famous for, well, bleeding all the time. So much so that his corner had to inform the ref not to stop the bout when he opens up, “It’s just what he does.” Another thing that Wepner did was knock Muhammad Ali down. Okay, so he stood on The GOAT’s foot and kinda shoved him, but still… The photo (without context) is pretty astounding.
Back to the game → Smits gets 2 fouls in the 1st quarter. He’s Benched!
And replaced by Crushing Austin Croshere, so that ain’t bad.
By the end of the first, Kobe has played all 12 minutes. But only has 2 points and has 2 turnovers. Probably still needs a bit of time to find his rhythm. Meanwhile, Shaq only has 5, Miller has 10, the Dunking Dutchman has 8.
After a warm 1st quarter, Miller starts to cool down in the 2nd, by missing 4 shots in a row. But I am starting to appreciate his in-game scheming. He really tries to work the system. He draws a foul by just running into Horry and floundering. I mean, part of me really hates that. But with his near-perfect free throw shooting, it’s hard not to respect the game plan.
On the other hand, if Miller can’t shoot, he doesn’t really seem to add anything else to the team in terms of stats (Just a couple of assists and rebounds per game in the series). I suppose he is their court general. But yeah, without the shots, he kind of ghosts out there.
And then Reggie misses his first free throw of the series.
Croshere, on the other hand, is still playing excellent. Not sure why they use him so sparingly. He seems to be a bit of a gamechanger when he’s on the court.
And while Austin starts heating up, Shaq gets into foul trouble as well, with three in the first half (O’Neal gets away with an uncalled fourth foul as well). This causes Phil Jackson to take him out before he is too deep into Foul City. He’s Benched!
The first half ends with Fisher getting a terrific diving steal and Harper taking a hopeless three that nearly became a goaltending charge, as Croshere hopped up and snapped it down under the hoop. Careful, buster!
At the half, Indiana is up by 3.
During the halftime break, Jim Gray interviews Miller. I think this is the third time in a row he has Reggie on the mic at the half. Does Kobe and Shaq not want to do it? Weird how they keep going back to the same player for each game.
Minutes into the 3rd quarter, and Kobe gets his fourth foul. That’s a few key players in foul trouble early on. That could be very troublesome down the stretch. Meanwhile, Bryant is finally starting to heat up, doubling his point total in less than 3 minutes.
Then Rice puts up a very Steph Curry-like, crowded 3 to put the Lakers in the lead for the first time in the game.
And Rose and Reggie are a combined 5 of 16 so far in the game. Another poor turnout. The free throws really are Miller’s 🍞 and butter in this series. I guess that’s why you can’t just look at the basic stats to understand the full picture.
Smits then hits a quick hook in the lane. The commentator calls it ‘his little pet shot.’ How adorable! 🤗
That moment quickly turns as Smits gets his 4th foul halfway into the 3rd. It was a weird move as well. Smits elbows Harper a bit. And Harper axe handles Ricky in the shoulder with one hand. Smits gets the personal foul. Harper gets a technical.
With 2-minutes left in the 3rd, Reggie hits his first FG since the first quarter. It’s amazing how close this game is, considering both Rose and Miller are struggling.
And no Croshere in sight. Is he only contracted to play hard in small bursts? You’d think they get him out there more than this. But Smits on the other hand gets 16 in q3. Shaq has four fouls with 2 min left in the 3rd. Reverse these fortunes, RS!
The third quarter ends with Kobe getting 10 of his 16 points. Foul trouble, notwithstanding, it looks like Bryant is back, BayBay!
Oh, and before we do anything else, we have to throw the spotlight on the Birthday Boy himself: Sam Perkins! Yay! — Just don’t forget The Rule, mister!
The 4th quarter starts, and the Lakers are up 80–77.
Some big questions to consider though:
- Can Miller get his first 4th quarter FG of the series?
- How will the “4th-quarter 4-Man 4-Foul Club” impact the game: Bryant, Horry, O’Neal, and Smits.
Annnd Miller immediately does it! He gets a FG in the fourth to make it a one-point game. Glad you could join us.
Shaq is also playing against type by putting in 6/7 from the free throw line. This quarter is getting good!
Although, there is more Miller swooning from the commentary team. Reggie gets one assist for a wildly open three-point shot from the Birthday Boy, and the commentators go bananas for it. Calm down, Bobby Costas; Miller only has 3 assists in the game.
Then, after hitting two technical free throws (after a dangerous-looking defensive move from Travis Best), Shaq gets 5 fouls.
Reggie comes back with an incredible driving layup with minutes left (see, I’m fair). It was followed by a Fisher 3 for the 2 point lead. This is going back and forth and turning into the best quarter of the whole series. Can Miller answer back? The answer is…. YES!
He hits a much-needed 3. He’s now 4-of-4 in the 4th. Is this Miller Time???
But I don’t want these last couple of plays to paint a different picture. This game is a tale of the free throw line: Hack-A-Shaq is a back, Jack! And Miller is cleaning up points with his free throws as well.
It looks like O’Neal’s run of free throw success has dried up. Every time the big man touches the ball, he is swatted and groped. Maybe it’s time for Kobe to take over on offense?
With 45 seconds left and the Lakers up 2, Davis fouls out (for the 3rd time in a row). He’s Benched!
I’ll do a little play-by-play here. It’s quite exciting:
After Horry hits his shot, the Lakers are now up 3. It’s Pacers ball. And Perkins gets the touch and hits the 3! Incredible. It’s tied.
The Lakers then accidentally throw the ball away. 17 seconds left. Still tied.
Travis Best rolls up the court. Big moment! And bigger opponent, as Shaq bizarrely creeps out to meet him. 5'11 vs. 7 ft… An amazing sight.
But, Best air-balls wildly. Shouldn’t that have been Miller’s shot? He is the crunch-time assassin, right?
With 2 seconds left, it’s Laker ball and a tied game:
The ball is tossed into Shaq. Looong hook. Doesn’t go in.
Overtime!
And what a quarter that was! Def worth a rewatch if you can!
Overtime begins, and Smits comes back after skipping the fourth. He immediately loses the ball.
Horry steps up, though, getting two quick FGs in a row. The Pacers could be in trouble. They dumped a lot of fouls on Shaq, thinking they could end it in the fourth. But the chapter isn’t closed just yet: Miller hits a contested last-minute 3. Awesome stuff!
But where in Sam (Perkins) Hell was he at the end of the 4th? Travis Best wasn’t the best option for that shot. In the series so far, Reggie has only hit 3–15 3’s. But in this game, he gets 6–9. They really had a chance to take this home in the 4th by giving Miller the ball.
And with only two minutes left and one loose ball foul later, Shaq gets his 6th foul. He’s Benched!
And Smits couldn’t be happier! He immediately hits his ‘little pet shot’ twice in a row. Like a toddler out of his harness, Ricky is finally free!
But this is Kobe’s time to shine, scoring 6 straight points.
Kobe manages to match Ric shot-for-shot to keep the Lakers alive. However, our young free toddler ain’t having that: Smits stuffs a Bryant shot. Fly, my beautiful bird, Fly!
We’re not done with the Smitaissance yet… With 28 seconds left in the game, Ric gets fouled and hits both shots. Where have you been, mate?
Let’s go back to play-by-play again for these last moments…
An offensive rebound putback by Kobe keeps the Lakers up by 3 with 5 seconds left.
Then Rose locks and trips up Fox. A wily move by Jalen — Outfoxing the Fox! This means that the Pacers get one foul shot and the ball. Miller hits it.
Still 5 seconds left.
The Pacers toss it in. They only need 2 to tie. Miller goes for a highly crowded three. And misses. Lakers win, 120–117. Maybe they should’ve went with Best this time 😜 (or, went for two points. With Shaq out of the mix, they may have been able to win in double overtime).
And that’s a wrap on Game four. A clear winner for Match of the Series so far!
I remembered this series being quite dominated by LA. But the Pacers have held their own through a lot of it. And now for your Game five preview: All throughout the playoffs, the Lakers have not played well in close-out games. Can they take the title in the next matchup? Or will the Pacers push it to a Game six? Don’t know why I’m building suspense for a 21-year-old series 🤷♂️
If you don’t know, wait a week to find out. If you do know:
Thanks for reading, guys. Catch you next time.
The track I listened to while writing this piece was Zack Hemsey’s The Way.
For a more stat-based breakdown of the game, click here to peep the Basketball-Reference.
