1994–95 Indiana Pacers season

The 1994–95 NBA season was the Pacers' 19th season in the National Basketball Association, and 28th season as a franchise.[1] After appearing in their first Conference Finals, the Pacers improved their fortunes by adding Mark Jackson, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers.[2] The move would pay off as the Pacers won their first Division title since joining the NBA.[3] The Pacers finished the season with a 52–30 record, as Rik Smits had a career year as he averaged 17.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.[3] Reggie Miller was selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, which was his first All-Star appearance since 1990.

1994–95 Indiana Pacers season
Division champions
Head coachLarry Brown
General managerDonnie Walsh
ArenaMarket Square Arena
Results
Record52–30 (.634)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Central)
Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishEastern Conference Finals
(Lost to Magic 3–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWTTV
Prime Sports Midwest
RadioWIBC

In the playoffs, the Pacers faced off against the Atlanta Hawks for the second consecutive season. The Pacers swept the Hawks in three 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 3-pointer.[3] Knicks fan Spike Lee was just a few feet away. Miller would add 2 free throws and give the Pacers a legendary comeback win.[4] 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 2-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.[3] The home team would win every game in the series.

Following the season, Byron Scott left in the 1995 NBA Expansion Draft, Vern Fleming signed as an unrestricted free agent with the New Jersey Nets, and Sam Mitchell re-signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Offseason

NBA Draft
Main article: 1994 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
115Eric PiatkowskiSG United StatesNebraska
241William NjokuPF Ghana/ CanadaSt. Mary's (Canada)
244Damon BaileyG United StatesIndiana

Roster
Roster listing
Indiana Pacers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
PG — Bailey, Damon  (IN) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Indiana
PF 33 Davis, Antonio 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) UTEP
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
PF 43 Haskin, Scott  (IN) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Oregon State
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) BYU
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
C 41 Thompson, LaSalle  6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Texas
PG 3 Workman, Haywoode 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oral Roberts
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Roster Notes
  • Center Scott Haskin missed the entire season due to a back injury.
  • Guard Damon Bailey missed the entire season due to knee injuries.

Regular season

Season standings
Central Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Indiana Pacers 5230.634–33–819–2218–10
x-Charlotte Hornets 5032.610229–1221–2017–11
x-Chicago Bulls 4735.573528–1319–2216–12
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 4339.524926–1517–2417–11
x-Atlanta Hawks 4240.5121024–1718–239–19
Milwaukee Bucks 3448.4151822–1912–2913–15
Detroit Pistons 2854.3412413–288–337–21
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Orlando Magic5725.695–
2 y-Indiana Pacers5230.6345
3 x-New York Knicks5527.6712
4 x-Charlotte Hornets5032.6107
5 x-Chicago Bulls4735.57310
6 x-Cleveland Cavaliers4339.52414
7 x-Atlanta Hawks4240.51215
8 x-Boston Celtics3547.42722
9 Milwaukee Bucks3448.41523
10 Miami Heat3250.39025
11 New Jersey Nets3052.36627
12 Detroit Pistons2854.34129
13 Philadelphia 76ers2458.29333
14 Washington Bullets2161.25636

[5]

Record vs. opponents
1994–95 NBA records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —3–12–21–41–42–02–03–22–00–21–42–00–22–21–32–04–02–21–33–11–11–11–11–10–20–24–0
Boston 1–3—1–30–42–21–11–13–12–01–12–20–21–14–11–32–02–30–52–33–11–10–21–10–21–10–23–1
Charlotte 2–23–1—2–23–20–21–15–02–00–21–42–00–23–14–11–13–13–11–33–10–22–01–11–12–02–03–1
Chicago 4–14–02–2—2–31–11–15–02–01–12–21–11–13–11–42–02–23–11–34–01–11–10–21–10–20–22–2
Cleveland 4–12–22–33–2—0–21–12–22–00–22–31–11–11–34–01–14–02–21–33–11–11–11–10–20–21–13–1
Dallas 0–21–12–01–12–0—1–41–13–12–31–13–11–30–21–14–11–10–20–22–00–43–12–22–30–42–41–1
Denver 0–21–11–11–11–14–1—1–11–31–41–14–02–22–02–06–01–10–20–21–11–33–12–21–41–31–42–0
Detroit 2–31–30–50–52–21–11–1—1–10–22–21–10–21–32–31–12–21–31–34–01–10–21–10–20–20–23–1
Golden State 0–20–20–20–20–21–33–11–1—0–40–23–23–21–10–21–31–11–10–21–13–21–40–51–31–42–22–0
Houston 2–01–12–01–12–03–24–12–04–0—1–13–10–42–01–13–22–00–20–22–03–11–33–11–50–42–32–0
Indiana 4–12–24–12–23–21–11–12–22–01–1—2–01–12–23–22–03–11–32–24–01–11–12–02–01–10–23–1
L.A. Clippers 0–22–00–21–11–11–30–41–12–31–30–2—2–30–21–11–30–20–20–21–11–40–51–40–40–51–30–2
L.A. Lakers 2–01–12–01–11–13–12–22–02–34–01–13–2—1–11–13–12–00–21–11–11–42–33–21–34–12–22–0
Miami 2–21–41–31–33–12–00–23–11–10–22–22–01–1—4–01–11–31–41–31–40–20–20–20–20–20–24–1
Milwaukee 3–13–11–44–10–41–10–23–22–01–12–31–11–10–4—1–12–22–20–43–10–20–21–10–20–20–23–1
Minnesota 0–20–21–10–21–11–40–61–13–12–30–23–11–31–11–1—1–10–21–11–10–40–41–30–50–41–41–1
New Jersey 0–43–21–32–20–41–11–12–21–10–21–32–00–23–12–21–1—1–42–22–30–21–11–10–21–10–22–3
New York 2–25–01–31–32–22–02–03–11–12–03–12–02–04–12–22–04–1—2–34–01–11–12–01–10–20–24–0
Orlando 3–13–23–13–13–12–02–03–12–02–02–22–01–13–14–01–12–23–2—4–11–12–01–11–10–21–13–2
Philadelphia 1–31–31–30–41–30–21–10–41–10–20–41–11–14–11–31–13–20–41–4—0–22–01–10–20–20–23–2
Phoenix 1–11–12–01–11–14–03–11–12–31–31–14–14–12–02–04–02–01–11–12–0—5–04–12–24–12–22–0
Portland 1–12–00–21–11–11–31–32–04–13–11–15–03–22–02–04–01–11–10–20–20–5—3–21–32–31–32–0
Sacramento 1–11–11–12–01–12–22–21–15–01–30–24–12–32–01–13–11–10–21–11–11–42–3—0–43–20–41–1
San Antonio 1–12–01–11–12–03–24–12–03–15–10–24–03–12–02–05–02–01–11–12–02–23–14–0—2–23–22–0
Seattle 2–01–10–22–02–04–03–12–04–14–01–15–01–42–02–04–01–12–02–02–01–43–22–32–2—1–32–0
Utah 2–02–00–22–01–14–24–12–02–23–22–03–12–22–02–04–12–02–01–12–02–23–14–02–33–1—2–0
Washington 0–41–31–32–21–31–10–21–30–20–21–32–00–21–41–31–13–20–42–32–30–20–21–10–20–20–2—

Schedule
GameDateOpponentResultPacers pointsOpponentsRecordStreakNotes
1

[6]

Playoffs

East First Round

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

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

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

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

Awards, records, and honors

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. "PRO BASKETBALL;Mark Jackson Acquired by Pacers". New York Times. July 1, 1994. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  3. Indiana Pacers (1967-Present)
  4. "1995 N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Now It's Knicks Who Need Incredible Comeback". New York Times. May 14, 1995. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  5. 1994–95 NBA season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com
  6. 1994-95 Indiana Pacers Games - Basketball-Reference.com
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