History has a way of looping back, especially at Madison Square Garden. Three decades ago, Reggie Miller became public enemy No. 1 in New York, flashing that choke gesture and silencing the crowd. Fast forward to this year’s playoffs, and under the same blinding Garden lights, Tyrese Haliburton decided to stir the pot again. His shot? Clutch. His shot was clutch. His celebration was even louder. Suddenly, it felt like 1994 all over again.

Then again, the context just added to the drama. Haliburton thought he sealed the deal with a buzzer-beater three and pulled out the iconic “choke” sign—almost as if paying homage. Replay brought him back down to earth; his foot on the line meant the bucket counted as only two. No problem. The Pacers dug in and snatched the win anyway, finishing off a 138-135 thriller in OT. Talk about déjà vu with a Gen Z twist.

Naturally, that moment brought fans straight back to Miller’s legendary Game 5 heroics. Back then, he dropped 25 points in the fourth quarter and did the very same gesture, leaving Knicks fans stunned. Coincidentally, Miller was watching Haliburton do it live on TNT. For Indiana fans, it was more than just a win. It was nostalgia being reborn. As Miller might say, “In Indiana, some celebrations just live forever.”

But hold up—Reggie Miller wasn’t done. Recently, he posted something on Instagram story that had fans reading between the lines. He shared a side-by-side photo collage—him from the ‘94 Pacers, Haliburton from this year’s squad. Both images, it turns out, show Rick Carlisle coaching in the background. Subtle? Yes. Random? Not a chance.

Interestingly, Reggie Miller’s cryptic post came right after the Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau. Although they’d reached the Eastern Conference Finals, that wasn’t enough. Even more bizarre, Thibodeau wasn’t the only coach let go—Mike Brown and Michael Malone also got the axe after falling to Indiana. So why did Thibodeau get fired?

Knicks let go of Tom Thibodeau despite their deepest run in decades?

Despite reaching their first Eastern Conference Finals in nearly 25 years, the New York Knicks have decided to cut ties with head coach Tom Thibodeau. The timing? Kind of shocking. Just days after their season-ending loss to the Pacers, Knicks president Leon Rose delivered the news. “Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” Rose said in Tuesday’s statement. “This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction.” That’s a tough call considering the Knicks haven’t sniffed a title since 1973.

But it wasn’t all cold business. Rose added, “We can’t thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach. He led us not only with class and professionalism for the past five seasons, but also to tremendous success on the court with four playoff berths and four playoff series victories.” That’s not small talk—it’s acknowledgment that Thibs genuinely changed the trajectory of the franchise.

Yet even with those numbers, the doubts never disappeared. His intense coaching style and heavy minutes for starters continued to stir debate, just like it did in his Bulls and Timberwolves days. Still, under Thibodeau, the Knicks posted back-to-back 50+ win seasons, a 226–174 record overall, and their most consistent playoff run since the ’90s.

And while they did knock out the defending champion Celtics in the playoffs, a 4–2 series loss to the Pacers raised fresh questions about Thibodeau’s decision-making under pressure. Maybe that’s where things tipped. Either way, for a franchise that had been wandering aimlessly for years, letting go of the coach who brought them back feels like a major swing.