Reggie Miller single-handedly crushed the heart of Knick fans multiple times. But it was the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals which solidified Miller as Public Enemy #1 in New York City. With moments to go in Game 1 and facing a seemingly insurmountable deficit of 105-99, Miller scored eight points in 8.9 seconds to give his Indiana Pacers an astonishing victory. This career-defining performance, combined with his on-court give-and-take with Knicks fan Spike Lee, helped establish Miller’s legend as “The Garden’s Greatest Villain.”
Through thrilling highlights and engaging interviews with Miller, his sister Cheryl, Spike Lee, Patrick Ewing and many others, Peabody Award-winning director Dan Klores uses humor and wit to capture the intensity of a rivalry between two cities and create a “terrifically entertaining piece of work*” critics were calling “the hit of Sundance**.” (*The New York Post, **The Oregonian, 2010 Sundance Film Festival)
Bonus:
- 2 Director’s Statements
- 11 Extended Interviews
- 3 Featurettes
- 1 Deleted Scene
This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com’s standard return policy will apply.
Rating: 
(out of 9 reviews)
List Price: $ 14.95
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June 7, 2010
#1
Review by Wayne Chambers
Rating:
The Knicks and Pacers met six times in the Reggie Miller era, each side winning three times. Neither team won the NBA championship, but the Knicks made the Finals twice in 94 and 99, and the Pacers made the Finals finally in 2000. Maybe the 98, 99, and 00 meetings did not have the memorable set pieces of the earlier three meetings, but exluding them from the documentary leaves an incomplete picture. If not covered those later three meetings should have been referenced.
June 7, 2010
#2
Review by A. D. Bowman
Rating:
Winning Time! I watched this documentary when it premiered on ESPN. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect, but, about ten minutes into the presentation, I remembered Reggie Miller. That skinny, brash, trash talking guy out of the California culture, that was selected by The Indiana Pacers instead of Steve Alford. ( The biggest disappointment in Indiana since Larry Bird went to Boston ). As this film will show, Reggie earned his stripes in the tough Eastern Conference of the NBA, where rivalries were more akin to fueds than anything else. The memorable clashes between the Bulls, The Pistons, The Celtics and of course The Knicks, would be where Reggie would change minds and attitudes, but none of these engagements even come close to the occasions of playing the Patrick Ewing led Knicks. Once I discovered this project was available on DVD, I couldn’t wait to see it uninterrupted. The stuff they are passing off today in the NBA, pales in comparison to what you’ll see just briefly in this film, and that is the only knock I have on this splendid, informative and elevating film. The interviews with many of the principles confirms that it was more than just a game. These swaggering gentlemen who now find themselves outfitted in the garments of NBA, should be required to watch this piece of league history and maybe aspire to commit to putting a similar excellent representation before their ticket buying public, highly unlikely. However, you can now witness, ( If you weren’t there…then ) what all that rumbling was coming out of the NBA Eastern Conference, when the players really knew how to do it….and just for a moment, this kid from The Indiana Pacers became The King Of New York. A Must Have/See
June 7, 2010
#3
Review by H. Bala
Rating:
Reggie Miller is so skinny he doesn’t have a shadow. Reggie Miller is so thin he could slide thru a door without opening it, except that then his elephant ears would get caught in the crack. But Reggie Miller was a phenomenal basketball player, and whenever he laced ‘em up in Madison Square Garden, he elevated his game even more, and it became almost like performance art. ESPN, celebrating its 30 years on air, is doing big things with its 30 for 30 documentaries, and this one may be my favorite so far. “Winning Time: Reggie Miller Vs. The New York Knicks” sounds like a mouthful, which is absolutely appropriate for Reggie Miller. Reggie can talk, brother. Reggie can trash talk. Prolifically.
The film focuses on the Indiana Pacers’ very bitter, very heated rivalry with the Knicks back in the mid-’90s, and Reggie, the king of histrionics, was in the thick of things. Everyone respected Reggie’s game, but the same can’t be said for his constant chatter. Reggie trash talks partly – or maybe mostly – because of his big sister Cheryl, in whose shadow Reggie chafed for a looooong time. There’s a funny anecdote in which Reggie, when he was a kid, boasts that he had just scored 40 points only to learn that his sister had just scored 105. Cheryl Miller may just be the best female basketball player ever, and Reggie heard about this all his early life and when he was in UCLA and even during his career as a Pacer. Trash talking can be a self-defense mechanism, and Reggie was a virtuoso of baiting. Even Cheryl describes her little brother as “a bad itch down your spine that you can’t get to.” Patrick Ewing straight out called him a con man. And from another guy in the film: “The guy looked like Mr. Potatohead on a stick.” But Reggie can back up his lip with his exploits on the court. He is one of the most clutch performers in the history of the game.
I’m not even a Pacers fan and I love this documentary (but, okay, I am a UCLA fan). Director Dan Klores knows how to tell a compelling story. Reggie Miller wasn’t whom the Indiana fans wanted selected in the draft. They were jonesing for favorite son and Indiana Hoosier, Steve Alford. So right away Reggie had something to prove.
New York versus Indiana. The cultural gap is explored. We note the dichotomy of the bustling metropolis versus the leisurely tiny town. New York’s slick arrogance had the city dubbing itself the Mecca of basketball, which didn’t sit too well with Indiana, a place that reveres the sport and regards itself as THE home of basketball. The film is well-rounded enough that focus is also given to the Knicks’ side of things. The Knicks were edgy and old-school rough under Pat Riley’s tutelage. Fines were doled out to any Knick who helped up an opponent he’d just knocked down. We get reflections from members of that team and archival interviews, most notably from head coach Pat Riley, Patrick Ewing, and John Starks. And, oh, poor John Starks. Did Reggie ever have fun playing mind games with the volatile John Starks. And then there was Spike Lee, doubtless Reggie’s biggest foil.
Klores seamlessly weaves archival footage and humorous interviews and rousing music to not only bring to life one of the most rugged rivalries in basketball but to also delve into the psychology of the game. “Reggie Miller Vs. The New York Knicks” is a platform for gamesmanship and outrageous egos and audacious feats. It’s human drama that is passionate and riveting enough that you don’t have to be a sports fan to be entertained. We get to relive Reggie’s signature moments in Madison Square Garden: Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals in which a heckling Spike Lee inspired Reggie to an amazing come-from-behind victory, with Reggie directing that famous choke gesture and yet another gesture at Spike. Then the even more miraculous comeback win over the Knicks in Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals when, with Indiana trailing by six, Reggie scored 8 points in 8.9 seconds in the closing moments.
But as much as this is about Reggie, this is also something of a passing indictment on the Knicks’ inability to get over that hump with Patrick Ewing as the focal point. He and Reggie are only two of some of the great basketball players to never have won a championship.
Still, with two seconds to go, and your team is down and you need three points, would you rather have Michael Jordan… or Reggie Miller? If those were my only two choices, I’d go with old Mr. Potatohead every time.
June 7, 2010
#4
Review by Tab25
Rating:
This is one of those sports films that can appeal to both fans and non-fans alike. Lots of humorous moments and somewhat nostalgic look at the NBA from a time not long ago.
June 7, 2010
#5
Review by M. Gray
Rating:
If you love Reggie, this is the single-best dvd/documentary I’ve seen on him and his playoff heroics in NYC.