NEW YORK — Knicks fans might have thought everything was going to be OK when Willis Reed came out of the tunnel for Game 7 of the 1970 NBA finals.
Reed had something entirely different on his mind. “It’s a hell of a predicament to be in. You’re going to try to play Wilt Chamberlain, who’s the greatest offensive big man to ever play the game, only guy to average 50 points, only ever to score 100 points in a game … and I’ve got to try to do it on one leg,” Reed recalled Monday night. “This is not the way you want to be playing a championship game. But it worked out.”
It sure did. Reed shook off a leg injury to make two jumpers to start the game, and the Knicks went out to beat the Los Angeles Lakers to win the title.
Reed made the walk onto the Madison Square Garden floor again Monday when the Knicks celebrated the 40th anniversary of their first championship team at halftime of their game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Â