May 7 in sports history: Magic from MJ, Reggie and 'The Big Sexy'

1995: The Knicks led by six with 18.7 seconds left in their second-round playoff opener against the Pacers, but it wasn't enough.

Knicks tormentor and Spike Lee antagonist Reggie Miller scored eight points -- two three-pointers and two free throws -- in a span of nine seconds down the stretch to give Indiana a 107-105 win at Madison Square Garden.

"Disgusting," Knicks coach Pat Riley called the loss.

"Choke artists," Miller called the Knicks, according to the New York Daily News. New York could have taken the lead with 13 seconds left and the score tied, but the Knicks' John Starks missed free throws.

From his courtside seat, Lee spent most of the game jawing with Miller, who taunted the filmmaker by making a choke sign. Reggie finished with 31 points.

"We played our asses of and our hearts out to win the game," said Riley, "and simply gave it away at the end."

1994: For Seattle, it was a nightmare. For the Nuggets, their 98-94 overtime win over the SuperSonics clinched the best-of-five playoff series — the first time an eighth seed topped a No. 1 seed in NBA history. Denver was down 2-0 in the series.

"We really didn't expect to win this series," said an exuberant Dikembe Mutombo of the Nuggets. "We just wanted to make a good showing." Seattle finished the regular season 63-19; Denver 42-40.

"We were tight and they were loose," Seattle coach George Karl said. "I can't deny that the butterflies felt like rocks."

BIG DAY FOR BIG DUDES

1917: It can't be emphasized enough about Babe Ruth: The big dude could pitch too. Before he was acquired by the Yankees from the Red Sox in 1920, the Bambino compiled an 89-46 record and a 2.19 ERA in six seasons with Boston. (He was 5-0 in scattered appearances with the Yankees.)

On this date, Ruth outdueled fellow future Hall of Famer Walter Johnson in the defending champ Red Sox's 1-0 win over the Washington Senators. Ruth earned his sixth win of the season and knocked in the winning run with a sacrifice fly against Johnson, the "Smoke Ball King."

2016: Speaking of big dudes, Bartolo Colon was an outstanding pitcher, but he was no Babe Ruth at the plate. His career average: .084. 

Less than three weeks before his 43rd birthday, however, the Mets right-hander did what many thought was impossible. In a 6-3 win over the Padres in San Diego, "The Big Sexy" hit a home run, becoming the oldest player in big-league history to hit the first dinger of his career.

Enjoying his supreme moment as a hitter, Colon took his time circling the bases. "The Mets gathered on the field to watch the Kentucky Derby Saturday, billed as the most exciting two minutes in sports. A couple of hours later, Bartolo Colon made that race look like a yawn," wrote Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. 

The blast, against James Shields, traveled 365 feet into the left-field stands. The historic ball was grabbed by a lifelong Mets fan, who gave it to a security guard to turn over to the Mets. New York players went nuts after the homer, Colon's third extra-base hit in 247 at-bats over 19 seasons in the big leagues.

ALSO

1925: In a 10-9 loss in Pittsburgh to the Cardinals, Pirates shortstop Glenn Wright made an unassisted triple play. He caught Jim Bottomley’s line drive, stepped on second to double up Jimmy Cooney and tagged Rogers Hornsby running from first. The rarity has occurred 15 times in the big leagues — the last time in 2009 by Eric Bruntlett of the Phillies.

1959: At Los Angeles Coliseum, 93,103 fans attended a Yankees-Dodgers exhibition game on “Roy Campanella Night” — an appreciation for the Dodgers catcher, who was paralyzed in a car accident in 1958. "This was something I will never forget for the rest of my life," Campanella said.  

2009: In an 8-6 loss to Tampa Bay, Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera gave up home runs to consecutive batters for the first time in his big-league career.  "It's shocking," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of the bad outing by the future Hall of Famer. 

2005: In one of the biggest upsets in horse racing history, 50-to-1 shot Giacomo won the Kentucky Derby. Closing Argument, a 70-1 shot, finished second; Afleet Alex was third. A $2 bet on Giacomo to win paid $102.60, the second-highest such payoff in Derby history. 

Happy birthday...

• Sydney Leroux, member of the 2015 U.S. Women’s World Cup Championship team and current member of the Orlando Pride in the NWSL (30).
• Four-time NBA All-Star Shawn "The Matrix" Marion. He played nine years for the Suns before going to the Mavericks, whom he helped win their first NBA title, in 2011 (42).
• Alex Smith, first overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft. Smith led the 49ers to the 2012 NFC title game but was benched the following season in favor of Colin Kaepernick. He spent the next five seasons with the Chiefs before signing with Washington where, in 2018, he suffered a horrific leg injury that required 17 surgeries (36).

R.I.P. 

2002: Seattle Slew, winner of the 1977 Triple Crown and father of Swale, who won the 1984 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. He died at age 28.

2011: Charismatic Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros, winner of three British Opens and two Masters. Ballesteros is credited with expanding the Ryder Cup to include Continental Europe. He died of brain cancer. He was 54. 

2013: George Sauer Jr., member of the Super Bowl III-winning New York Jets. He caught eight passes in the championship game and ended his career with over 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns. He retired at age 27, later calling pro football “a grotesque business” in a New York Times interview. He died at age 69.

May 6: No knock on masterful Wood