1994–95 Indiana Pacers season

1994–95 Indiana Pacers season
Conference Champions
Head coach	Larry Brown
General manager	Donnie Walsh
Arena	Market Square Arena
Results
Record	50–32 (.610)
Place	Division: 1st (Central) Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East Conference Finals (eliminated 3-4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Prime Sports Midwest, WTTV
Radio	WIBC

The 1994-95 NBA season was the Pacers' 19th season in the NBA and 28th season as a franchise.^[1] After appearing in their first Conference Finals, the Pacers improved their fortunes by adding Mark Jackson. The move would pay off as the Pacers won their first division title since joining the NBA.^[2] The Pacers finished the season with a 52-30 record, and Rik Smits had a career year as he averaged more he 17.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.^[2] Reggie Miller was selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, which was his first All-Star appearance since 1990.

In the playoffs, the Pacers faced off against the Atlanta Hawks for the second consecutive season. The Pacers swept the Hawks in 3 straight games. As they advanced to the second round of the playoffs, the Pacers found themselves in a rematch with New York Knicks. As the Knicks had a better regular season record, the series started in New York. In game 1, the Pacers were down 6 points with 16.4 seconds left. Miller would single handedly stun the Knicks by nailing a 3 pointer and then stealing the inbounds pass and tying the game with another three pointer.^[2] Knicks fan Spike Lee was just a few feet away. Miller would add 2 free throws and give the Pacers a legendary comeback win. The Pacers lost Game 2 and the series returned to Indiana. After four games, the Pacers took a 3-1 series lead. The Knicks would bounce back and force a 7th game at Madison Square Garden. The Pacers would emerge victorious as Patrick Ewing's last second shot did not go in the basket.

With a 1-point win, the Pacers qualified for the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive season. The Pacers were very familiar with their opponents. Like their first and second round opponents, the Pacers played the Orlando Magic the previous postseason. The Pacers pushed a strong Orlando team to a 7th game before losing the series.^[2] The home team would win every game in the series.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	16	Eric Piatkowski	SG	United States	Nebraska
2	41	William Njoku	PF	Ghana/ Canada	St. Mary's (Canada)
2	44	Damon Bailey	G	United States	Indiana

Roster

Indiana Pacers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From PF 33 Davis, Antonio 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Texas–El Paso PF 32 Davis, Dale 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Clemson SF 27 Ferrell, Duane 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 209 lb (95 kg) Georgia Tech PG 10 Fleming, Vern 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Georgia PG 13 Jackson, Mark 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) St. John's C 54 Kite, Greg 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Brigham Young SF 9 McKey, Derrick 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Alabama SG 31 Miller, Reggie (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) UCLA SF 5 Mitchell, Sam 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Mercer SG 4 Scott, Byron 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Arizona State C 45 Smits, Rik 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Marist PF 21 Strickland, Mark 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Temple C 41 Thompson, LaSalle 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Texas PF 24 Williams, John 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) LSU PG 3 Workman, Haywoode 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oral Roberts	Head coach Larry Brown (North Carolina) Assistant coach(es) Gar Heard (Oklahoma) George Irvine (Washington) Billy King (Duke) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Rik Smits		Greg Kite	LaSalle Thompson
PF	Dale Davis	Antonio Davis	John Williams
SF	Derrick McKey	Sam Mitchell	Duane Ferrell	Mark Strickland
SG	Reggie Miller	Byron Scott
PG	Mark Jackson	Haywoode Workman	Vern Fleming

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Indiana Pacers	52	30	.634	–	33–8	19–22	18–10
x-Charlotte Hornets	50	32	.610	2	29–12	21–20	17–11
x-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	5	28–13	19–22	16–12
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	43	39	.524	9	26–15	17–24	17–11
x-Atlanta Hawks	42	40	.512	10	24–17	18–23	9–19
Milwaukee Bucks	34	48	.415	18	22–19	12–29	13–15
Detroit Pistons	28	54	.341	24	13–28	8–33	7–21

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Orlando Magic	57	25	.695	–
2	y-Indiana Pacers	52	30	.634	5
3	x-New York Knicks	55	27	.671	2
4	x-Charlotte Hornets	50	32	.610	7
5	x-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	10
6	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	43	39	.524	14
7	x-Atlanta Hawks	42	40	.512	15
8	x-Boston Celtics	35	47	.427	22
9	Milwaukee Bucks	34	48	.415	23
10	Miami Heat	32	50	.390	25
11	New Jersey Nets	30	52	.366	27
12	Detroit Pistons	28	54	.341	29
13	Philadelphia 76ers	24	58	.293	33
14	Washington Bullets	21	61	.256	36

^[3]

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Pacers points	Opponents	Record	Streak	Notes
1

^[4]

Playoffs

East First Round

(2) Indiana Pacers vs. (7) Atlanta Hawks: Pacers win series 3-0

• Game 1 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (April 27): Indiana 90, Atlanta 82
• Game 2 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (April 29): Indiana 105, Atlanta 97
• Game 3 @ The Omni, Atlanta (May 2): Indiana 105, Atlanta 89

Last Playoff Meeting: 1994 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Indiana won 4-2)

East Conference Semifinals

(2) Indiana Pacers vs. (3) New York Knicks: Pacers win series 4-3

• Game 1 @ Madison Square Garden, New York City (May 7): Indiana 107, New York 105
• Game 2 @ Madison Square Garden, New York City (May 9): New York 96, Indiana 77
• Game 3 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (May 11): Indiana 97, New York 95 (OT)
• Game 4 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (May 13): Indiana 98, New York 84
• Game 5 @ Madison Square Garden, New York City (May 17): New York 96, Indiana 95
• Game 6 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (May 19): New York 92, Indiana 82
• Game 7 @ Madison Square Garden, New York City (May 21): Indiana 97, New York 95

Last Playoff Meeting: 1994 Eastern Conference Finals (New York won 4-3)

East Conference Finals

(1) Orlando Magic vs. (2) Indiana Pacers: Magic win series 4-3

• Game 1 @ Orlando Arena, Orlando (May 23): Orlando 105, Indiana 101
• Game 2 @ Orlando Arena, Orlando (May 25): Orlando 119, Indiana 114
• Game 3 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (May 27): Indiana 105, Orlando 100
• Game 4 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (May 29): Indiana 94, Orlando 93
• Game 5 @ Orlando Arena, Orlando (May 31): Orlando 108, Indiana 106
• Game 6 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (June 2): Indiana 123, Orlando 96
• Game 7 @ Orlando Arena, Orlando (June 4): Orlando 105, Indiana 81

Last Playoff Meeting: 1994 Eastern Conference First Round (Indiana won 3-0)

Awards, records, and honors

• Reggie Miller, NBA All-Star Game
• Reggie Miller, All-NBA Third Team
• Derrick McKey, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

Player stats

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG

Playoffs

Player	GP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG

References

1. 1994-95 Indiana Pacers
2. Indiana Pacers (1967-Present)
3. 1994–95 NBA season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com
4. 1994-95 Indiana Pacers Games - Basketball-Reference.com

• Pacers on Basketball Reference