John Starks On Minds Of Knicks Fans After 'Choking' Loss To Pacers

New York Knicks fans entered the Eastern Conference finals full of hope until the first game of the series.

That's when their beloved Knicks blew a 14-point lead with less than three minutes remaining before falling in overtime to the Indiana Pacers. It took the breath from Knicks fans, especially after Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton did the "choking" gesture. It was reminiscent of Reggie Miller against the Knicks in the 1990s.

"I've been a Knicks fan for more than 50 years," Fox Sports 1's Craig Carton said on the Breakfast Ball show. "I can tell you that last night is the second-worst loss I've ever seen in my entire life."

Craig says yesterday was the second worse loss in his lifetime as a Knicks fan. #knicks #pacers #nbaplayoffs

Posted by Breakfast Ball on FS1 on Thursday, May 22, 2025

The worst, of course, was Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals. It was the closest the franchise came to a title since winning in 1973 behind Walt Frazier and Willis Reed. The Knicks lost 90-84 to the Houston Rockets.

Guard John Starks took most of the criticism after shooting 2 of 18 from the field. In an interview with Back In The Day Hoops in 2023, Starks said he is finally over the poor performance.

"It took a while," Starks said. "You never get over it. You just kind of put it in a little box in your mind and keep it there. Playoffs come around, it starts to open up a little bit. As a player, you never forget that. I don't care what anybody says. When you have a moment like that, and I know a lot of guys had moments like that, let that destroy their lives and never recovered from it. You never forget about it."