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 point guard Mark Jackson, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers during the off-season.[2] The move would pay off as the Pacers got off to a solid 14–6 start, then went on a 7-game winning streak in February, as they won their first Division title since joining the NBA.[3] The Pacers finished the season first place in the Central Division with a 52–30 record.[4]

1994–95 Indiana Pacers season
Division champions
Head coachLarry Brown
General managerDonnie Walsh
Owner(s)Herbert Simon
ArenaMarket Square Arena
Results
Record52–30 (.634)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Central)
Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishConference Finals
(Lost to Magic 3–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television
RadioWIBC

Reggie Miller led the team with 19.6 points per game and 195 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, which was his first All-Star appearance since 1990,[5] while Rik Smits had a career year as he averaged 17.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.[3] In addition, Derrick McKey provided the team with 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Dale Davis provided with 10.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, sixth man Byron Scott contributed 10.0 points per game off the bench, and Jackson averaged 7.6 points, 7.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game.[6] Second-year forward Antonio Davis only played just 44 games due to a back injury, averaging 7.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game off the bench.[7]

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 in the Eastern Conference First Round.[8] As they advanced to the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, 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 and film director Spike Lee was just a few feet away. Miller would add 2 free throws and give the Pacers a legendary comeback win.[9][10] The Pacers lost Game 2 and the series returned to Indiana. After four games, the Pacers took a 3–1 series lead.[11] The Knicks would bounce back and force a 7th game at Madison Square Garden. The Pacers would emerge victorious with a 97–95 win as Patrick Ewing's last-second shot did not go in the basket.[12]

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.[13][3] The home team would win every game in the series. Following the season, Scott left in the 1995 NBA Expansion Draft,[14] while long-time Pacers guard Vern Fleming signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Nets,[15] Sam Mitchell re-signed with his former team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and LaSalle Thompson was released to free agency.

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 BaileyPG United StatesIndiana

Roster
1994–95 Indiana Pacers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F/C 33 Davis, Antonio 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1968–10–31 UTEP
F/C 32 Davis, Dale 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–03–25 Clemson
F 27 Ferrell, Duane 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1965–02–28 Georgia Tech
G 10 Fleming, Vern 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1962–02–04 Georgia
F 43 Haskin, Scott  (IN) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1970–09–19 Oregon State
G 13 Jackson, Mark 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1965–04–01 St. John's
C 54 Kite, Greg 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1961–08–05 BYU
F 9 McKey, Derrick 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1966–10–10 Alabama
G 31 Miller, Reggie (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1965–08–24 UCLA
F 5 Mitchell, Sam 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1963–09–02 Mercer
G 4 Scott, Byron 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1961–03–28 Arizona State
C 45 Smits, Rik 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1966–08–23 Marist
C 41 Thompson, LaSalle  6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1961–06–23 Texas
G 3 Workman, Haywoode 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1966–01–23 Oral Roberts
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (IN) Inactive
  • Injured

Roster

Roster Notes
  • Point guard Damon Bailey missed the entire season due to knee injuries, and never played for the Pacers.
  • Center Scott Haskin missed the entire season due to a back injury.

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 2854.3412422–196–358–20
# 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

[16]

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—

Game log

Regular season
1994–95 game log
Total: 52–30 (Home: 33–8; Road: 19–22)
November: 7–5 (Home: 4–1; Road: 3–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
3 November 9, 1994
6:00 p.m. EST		 Houston L 104–109 Miller (25) Davis (14) Jackson (9) Market Square Arena
15,258		 2–1
December: 10–4 (Home: 6–0; Road: 4–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
January: 7–8 (Home: 5–3; Road: 2–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
30 January 7, 1995
8:30 p.m. EST		 @ Houston W 88–83 Miller (23) Davis (12) Jackson (8) The Summit
16,611		 19–11
February: 10–3 (Home: 5–1; Road: 5–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
All-Star Break
March: 11–6 (Home: 7–2; Road: 4–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
April: 7–4 (Home: 6–1; Road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1994–95 schedule

Playoffs
1995 playoff game log
First Round: 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 27 Atlanta W 90–82 Reggie Miller (24) Derrick McKey (9) Mark Jackson (9) Market Square Arena
16,445		 1–0
2 April 29 Atlanta W 105–97 Reggie Miller (39) Rik Smits (11) Mark Jackson (7) Market Square Arena
16,692		 2–0
3 May 2 @ Atlanta W 105–89 Reggie Miller (32) Rik Smits (14) Mark Jackson (7) Omni Coliseum
12,106		 3–0
Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 7 @ New York W 107–105 Rik Smits (34) Dale Davis (13) Mark Jackson (7) Madison Square Garden
19,763		 1–0
2 May 9 @ New York L 77–96 Dale Davis (13) Dale Davis (9) Jackson, Workman (4) Madison Square Garden
19,763		 1–1
3 May 11 New York W 97–95 (OT) Reggie Miller (26) Reggie Miller (11) Mark Jackson (4) Market Square Arena
16,675		 2–1
4 May 13 New York W 98–84 Rik Smits (25) Rik Smits (11) Mark Jackson (11) Market Square Arena
16,678		 3–1
5 May 17 @ New York L 95–96 Rik Smits (28) Antonio Davis (9) Reggie Miller (6) Madison Square Garden
19,763		 3–2
6 May 19 New York L 82–92 Rik Smits (21) Antonio Davis (8) Derrick McKey (6) Market Square Arena
16,679		 3–3
7 May 21 @ New York W 97–95 Reggie Miller (29) Mark Jackson (8) Mark Jackson (8) Madison Square Garden
19,763		 4–3
Conference Finals: 3–4 (Home: 3–0; Road: 0–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 23 @ Orlando L 101–105 Reggie Miller (26) Dale Davis (8) Mark Jackson (7) Orlando Arena
16,010		 0–1
2 May 25 @ Orlando L 114–119 Reggie Miller (37) Dale Davis (13) Rik Smits (6) Orlando Arena
16,010		 0–2
3 May 27 Orlando W 105–100 Reggie Miller (26) Antonio Davis (10) Mark Jackson (13) Market Square Arena
16,477		 1–2
4 May 29 Orlando W 94–93 Reggie Miller (23) Jackson, Smits (7) Rik Smits (7) Market Square Arena
16,477		 2–2
5 May 31 @ Orlando L 106–108 Miller, McKey (21) Derrick McKey (9) Mark Jackson (11) Orlando Arena
16,010		 2–3
6 June 2 Orlando W 123–96 Reggie Miller (36) Smits, D. Davis (10) Mark Jackson (12) Market Square Arena
16,477		 3–3
7 June 4 @ Orlando L 81–105 Dale Davis (15) Dale Davis (14) Mark Jackson (5) Orlando Arena
16,010		 3–4
1995 schedule

Player Statistics
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 GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Reggie Miller 81 81 32.9 46.2 41.5 89.7 2.6 3.0 1.2 0.2 19.6
Rik Smits 78 78 30.5 52.6 0.0 75.3 7.7 1.4 0.5 1.0 17.9
Derrick McKey 81 81 34.6 49.3 36.0 74.4 4.9 3.4 1.5 0.6 13.3
Dale Davis 74 70 31.7 56.3 0.0 53.3 9.4 0.8 1.0 1.6 10.6
Byron Scott 80 1 19.1 45.5 38.9 85.0 1.9 1.4 0.8 0.2 10.0
Mark Jackson 82 67 29.3 42.2 31.0 77.8 3.7 7.5 1.3 0.2 7.6
Antonio Davis 44 1 23.4 44.5 0.0 67.2 6.4 0.6 0.4 0.7 7.6
Sam Mitchell 81 12 17.0 48.7 10.0 72.4 3.0 0.8 0.5 0.2 6.5
Vern Fleming 55 1 12.5 49.5 0.0 72.2 1.6 2.0 0.5 0.0 4.6
Haywoode Workman 69 14 14.9 37.5 35.7 74.3 1.6 2.8 0.9 0.1 4.2
Duane Ferrell 56 1 10.8 48.0 16.7 75.3 1.6 0.6 0.5 0.1 4.1
LaSalle Thompson 38 3 11.9 41.5 0.0 87.5 2.3 0.5 0.5 0.3 2.9
John Williams 34 0 11.8 35.7 33.3 56.0 1.8 0.8 0.3 0.1 2.9
Greg Kite 9 0 6.8 21.4 0.0 20.0 2.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.9
Mark Strickland 4 0 2.3 33.3 0.0 50.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.8

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Reggie Miller 17 17 37.7 47.6 42.2 86.0 3.6 2.1 0.9 0.2 25.5
Rik Smits 17 17 32.1 54.7 100.0 80.4 7.0 2.0 0.3 0.8 20.1
Derrick McKey 17 17 34.8 43.7 31.4 87.1 4.8 3.8 1.0 0.6 12.8
Mark Jackson 17 17 32.6 45.4 40.0 73.9 5.2 7.2 0.9 0.0 9.9
Dale Davis 17 17 28.8 53.3 0.0 48.9 8.0 0.4 0.4 0.8 7.9
Byron Scott 17 0 17.5 34.0 26.5 88.2 1.5 0.9 0.6 0.1 6.1
Antonio Davis 17 0 21.6 45.1 0.0 62.7 5.7 0.4 0.5 0.6 5.9
Haywoode Workman 17 0 16.2 35.8 11.1 84.4 1.6 2.6 0.6 0.0 4.5
Sam Mitchell 17 0 13.1 35.9 0.0 78.6 2.8 0.4 0.2 0.1 4.0
Duane Ferrell 10 0 8.5 33.3 50.0 62.5 1.1 1.3 0.0 0.2 2.7
Vern Fleming 3 0 2.7 33.3 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.7
Greg Kite 8 0 3.3 33.3 0.0 100.0 0.9 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.5

Player Statistics Citation:[6]

Awards, records, and honors

Transactions

The Pacers were involved in the following transactions during the 1994–95 season.

Trades
June 30, 1994 To Indiana Pacers
Mark Jackson
Greg Minor		 To Los Angeles Clippers
Pooh Richardson
Malik Sealy
Eric Piatkowski

Free agents

Player Transactions Citation:[17]

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. "1994–95 Indiana Pacers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  5. "1995 NBA All-Star Game: West 139, East 112". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  6. "1994–95 Indiana Pacers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  7. "SITTING IT OUT IN INDY". Baltimore Sun. January 13, 1995. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  8. "Pacers 105, Hawks 89". UPI Archives. May 2, 1995. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  9. "1995 N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Pacers Stunned By Knick Errors". New York Times. May 18, 1995. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  10. "ON PRO BASKETBALL; A Team's Fiery Crash, With No Time to Burn". New York Times. May 8, 1995. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  11. "1995 N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Now It's Knicks Who Need Incredible Comeback". New York Times. May 14, 1995. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  12. "1995 N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; The Knicks' Quest for Glory Bounces Off the Back of the Rim". New York Times. May 22, 1995. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  13. "1995 N.B.A. PLAYOFFS; Do You Believe in the Magic? The Indiana Pacers Do". The New York Times. June 5, 1995. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  14. "1995 NBA Expansion Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  15. "PRO BASKETBALL; Nets Sign Fleming and Mahorn". New York Times. October 10, 1995. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  16. 1994–95 NBA season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com
  17. "1994–95 Indiana Pacers Transactions". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
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