Three times!
The Black Eight Miracle refers to the eighth-ranked team defeating the first-ranked team in the NBA playoffs.
The NBA playoffs are divided into two divisions, East and West. Eight teams from each division enter the playoffs. The regular season record ranking determines the matchup relationship. The first vs. the eighth, and the second vs. the seventh. , third against sixth, fourth against fifth. Among them, the team with the better actual record has the home field advantage. Since there is a considerable gap in strength between the first-ranked team and the eighth-ranked team, beating the first by the eighth can be regarded as a miracle, called the "Black Eight Miracle." In the more than 50 years of NBA history, the Black Eight Miracle has appeared three times, namely the Denver Nuggets in 1994, the New York Knicks in the 1998-1999 season, and the Golden State Warriors in the 2006-2007 season. .
In 1994, the Denver Nuggets entered the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference. They faced Seattle, which had the best regular season record and had "Glove" Gary Payton and "Rain Man" Sean Kemp. Sonics. At that time, the first round of the playoffs was still a best-of-five series, and the Sonics lost two games in a row at home. When everyone thought the Nuggets were about to be swept, the Nuggets returned to their home court and, led by interior defensive star Mutombo, tenaciously won two games in a row. In the final fifth game, relying on Mutombo's consecutive blocks at the last minute, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Seattle SuperSonics, creating the first "Black Eight Miracle" in NBA history. Mutombo took 31 big shots in five games, completely outshining Payton and Kemp.
After advancing to the second round, the Nuggets faced the Utah Jazz. Due to the five-game battle with the Sonics that consumed a lot of energy, the Nuggets lost three games in a row right from the start. But they still did not give up. After three consecutive games, the two sides entered the "tiebreak". This time, luck was not on their side. In the end, the Utah Jazz won, and the first "Black Eight Miracle" ended.
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1998-1999 shortened season, The New York Knicks enter the playoffs in eighth place in the Eastern Conference and face their old rivals the Miami Heat. In this series, the famous Van Gundy hugging Mourning's thigh incident occurred. The game between the Knicks and the Heat was hyped by the media, and the game was as fierce as people expected. In the first game, the Knicks defeated the Heat 95-75 at home. A 20-point victory gave the smug Heat a blow. In the second game, the Heat barely evened the total score, but in the third game, the Knicks once again beat the Heat by 24 points, 97-73, and reached the match point first. In the fourth game, the Heat finally regained their form, beating the Knicks by 15 points 87-72, bringing the game into the fifth life-or-death battle. In the fifth game, both sides were committed to defense, and every score was very difficult. 4.5 seconds before the end, the Heat led 77-76 by 1 point. The Knicks launched an attack. "Central Shooting King" Alan Houston pretended to make a jumper, waiting to deceive the Heat. After defending, he dribbled the ball directly from the right side towards the basket, and then used a rarely used throw. The ball first hit the basket, then bounced and hit the backboard. Finally, it slowly entered under the watchful eyes of all the fans. Got the basket, 78-77! The Knicks relied on Houston's incredible trick to defeat the Heat with a total score of 3-2 and advance with their heads held high.
Such an exciting victory greatly boosted the Knicks' confidence. Then they swept the Atlanta Hawks 4:0, and defeated the Indiana Pacers 4:2 in the Eastern Conference Finals to win the Eastern Conference Championship and advance to the NBA Finals. finals. But the cost of creating the "Black Eight Miracle" is huge. The Knicks have long been scarred, and "Gorilla" Ewing is unable to play because of a heel injury. The imbalance of power in the penalty area between the two sides gives the Spurs an overwhelming advantage. In the end, the Knicks lost to the San Antonio Spurs led by "Twin Towers" David Robinson and Tim Duncan 1:4, but compared to the Nuggets' Black Eight Miracle, the Knicks upgraded the miracle again!
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2006-2007 season , the Golden State Warriors led by "Mad Scientist" Nelson relied on run-and-gun tactics to break out at the last minute of the regular season, catching the last train in the playoffs and facing off against the Dallas Mavericks, who ranked first in the league during the regular season. The Dallas Mavericks made it all the way to the Finals in the 2005-2006 playoffs, losing to the Miami Heat and finishing second. This time, led by regular season MVP Dirk Nowitzki, they are determined to win. However, in the first game in Dallas, led by the team's top star Baron Davis, the Warriors gave the Mavericks a blow and won the game 97-85. In the second game, the Mavericks came back with a 112-99 victory. In this game, the Warriors sent off three players, including Baron Davis. Back at home in Oakland, the Warriors didn't give the Mavericks any chance, winning two consecutive games 109-91 and 103-99, taking a 3-1 lead. The Mavericks were pushed to the edge of the cliff.
Back in Dallas, the Mavericks pulled back a game 118-112, and the battlefield returned to Oakland again. The Warriors did not let the Mavericks have a chance to return to Dallas, and won cleanly 111-86. The Warriors advanced, and the third "Black Eight Miracle" was born!
However, this time the Warriors followed in the footsteps of the Denver Nuggets, and they also faced the Utah Jazz. Utah has "Malone II" Carlos Boozer, "Little Fatty" Deron Williams, "AK47" Andrei Kirilenko, and "Little Fish" Derek Fisher, and Have home field advantage. Although the Jazz had just experienced a seven-game battle with the Houston Rockets led by Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, and the Warriors had rested for several days, the Jazz still won the home game 116-112, 127-117. Two games. Back in Oakland, the Warriors pulled back a game 125-105, but then lost again 101-115, falling behind 1-3. When everyone expected the Warriors to create another miracle, back in Salt Lake City, the Jazz did not give them any chance. They won directly 100-87, and the third "Black Eight Miracle" ended.