Knicks icon Reed recalls Game 7 heroics in 1970 Finals

The moment he limped out of the tunnel, every Knicks fan knew it was going to be a special night. OK, make that every Knicks fan but one: Willis Reed.

Reed, the man at the center of what remains the most famous moment in Knicks history, openly admits that he had some real doubts when he made his stiff-legged walk into Madison Square Garden to join his teammates as they warmed up on the court before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the Lakers.

"I'm thinking, I'm in a hell of a predicament here," Reed, 67, recalled in a phone interview last week. "I'm basically playing for a championship with one leg against Wilt Chamberlain, the greatest center in the game."

Reed, now retired and living in Louisiana, will get a chance to relive that moment with some of his former teammates when the Knicks honor the 40th anniversary of their 1969-70 championship team with a ceremony Monday night during halftime of their game against the Bucks.

There were many great moments in the series that culminated in the Knicks' first NBA title, but it is Reed's walk through the tunnel and onto the court that ranks as one of the greatest moments in franchise history.

It never would have happened, Reed said, if the team hadn't found a way to win Game 5 at the Garden, a contest he tabs as the most pivotal of the series.

Reed tore a muscle in his right thigh as he tried to drive around Chamberlain only eight minutes into Game 5. He didn't get back on the court for the rest of the game, but his team, playing without a true center, rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to take a 3-2 lead in the series.

With Reed out for Game 6, however, Chamberlain abused the Knicks for 45 points and 27 rebounds to force Game 7.

Reed, who still walks with a limp because of multiple knee surgeries, said the biggest piece of misinformation before Game 7 was that it was his knees that were hurting. Rather, it was Reed's thigh and right hip that were bothering him, and the uncertainty continued right up until game time about whether he would be able to play.

Reed says nearly every coach he ever played for called him the night before the game and told him he had to play. When Reed got to the Garden in the early afternoon and began getting treatment, he was pretty sure he would be able to go out on the floor. He just didn't know how effective he would be.

"I could move around a little bit, but I couldn't totally flex my leg," he said. "I couldn't pick it up and put it down like I should. I had to run with a stiff leg."

As the trainer and doctor began working on him, teammates stopped by and encouraged him. "I knew if Willis was capable of attempting to play, he would," said Dick Barnett, who also will attend the ceremony.

Reed said he would have been on the floor for warm-ups with his teammates, but it took the doctor longer than expected to administer a painkiller. "I can't remember how many shots I had," Reed said. "I just remember that the needle was big."

Though Reed knew how much the leg was bothering him, he also knew that the Lakers weren't sure. When he entered the arena and the fans went crazy, he made a point of refusing to look at his opponents. Barnett was looking, however, and he could see that Reed's presence on the floor was having an impact "emotionally and psychologically" on both teams. The Lakers even stopped warming up to watch Reed gingerly make his way onto the floor.

Much has been made of the fact that Reed hit a pair of jump shots for the first two baskets of the game, the first coming only 18 seconds in. Barnett, however, thinks what has been overlooked is the defense the 6-10, 240-pound Reed played against Chamberlain despite giving up three inches and 35 pounds.

"Willis was really playing Wilt," said Barnett, who had 21 points. "It was just a positioning to keep Wilt away from the basket. I thought it was really telling. And the crowd was so into the game. It's obviously something no one ever forgets."

Those were the only two baskets Reed made in 27 minutes, but he helped limit Chamberlain to 21 points. The Knicks took a 69-42 halftime lead, and Walt Frazier had 36 points and 19 assists in their 113-99 win.

Reed said he couldn't forget that night even if he wanted to. No matter where he goes, no matter whom he meets, it's that game that people want to talk about.

Said Reed: "I know that the Garden used to seat about 19,500 back then, but the count should really be up to 200,000 because that's how many people have told me they were there."