Reggie Miller had one big question for Knicks fans after the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals.
“Why are y’all dragging me?”
Miller called Game 2 of the second-round series at Madison Square Garden as part of the TNT broadcast and was heckled during the course of the night by Knicks fans, which included a chant of “F–k you, Reggie” at the end of a Knicks win.
Miller, of course, has been persona non grata at the Garden since the 1990s over his battles with the Knicks on the court during his days with the Pacers.
Naturally, he was dragged into the narrative during this year’s series that seemed to reignite the rivalry between the Knicks and Pacers, who ultimately took the series in seven games.
“Can I just say something? People, I didn’t play in the series, New Yorkers,” Miller said on Wednesday during an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.”
“Why are y’all dragging me? I didn’t play in the series; how am I a part of all of this? I came to do Game 2 because that was asked of me. My bosses said, ‘We want you doing this game.’ We all have bosses, right Theodore? I can’t say no.
“I called the game down the middle. How am I dragged in to like I’m out there playing Game 7?”
Miller wasn’t exactly a choir boy during the series either, though.
While he may not have been on the court, he did turn into the heel role during the series and trolled the Knicks on social media after they lost Game 7.
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton also wore a sweatshirt to his postgame news conference that had Miller doing the choke sign — which he made during the 1994 playoffs — on the front of it.
“Look, I expected that too,” Miller said about the whole thing. “I understand that. Just like in ‘The Godfather,’ just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in. And my boys from Indiana, thank you. My young boys handled their business in Game 7, and we moved on.
“But I wasn’t playing in the series, guys. I’m 58 years old. I had nothing to do with the series.”