Jalen Rose recalled the moment Larry Bird didn’t celebrate Reggie Miller’s dagger: “He knew what we all knew, they had Michael Jordan”

With the Chicago Bulls up 2-1 in the series and ahead 94-93 with 2.9 seconds left in the game and Game 5 scheduled to be played at the United Center, the Indiana Pacers were literally down to their last out in Game 4 of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals.

But Pacers legend Reggie Miller, who had delivered many big shots before in his Hall of Famer NBA career, hit arguably the biggest basket of his career after what he called was a slight shove to Michael Jordan that gave him a little but just enough daylight to unload a 3-pointer that swished the net and gave the Pacers a 96-94 lead with 0.4 seconds left in the game.

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Pippen’s missed foul shots opened the door for Miller’s heroics

Before that iconic shot, the Bulls had a chance to put the Pacers on the ropes. But Scottie Pippen missed two free throws that would have given Chicago a 3-point lead.

On Scottie’s second miss, Jordan and Derrick McKey battled for the rebound, but neither could grab the ball as it went out of bounds. Initially, the referees ruled it was Chicago’s ball, but they changed the call and gave the Pacers a chance to win the game with one final play.

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Miller lost Ron Harper after receiving a screen from Antonio Davis and Travis Best. Jordan, who was guarding Best, switched to Miller, but Reggie shoved Michael away. The referees did not call the push and Miller was wide open. He knocked down the 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the game and gave the Pacers a 96-94 lead.

An excited Miller danced on his way to the Pacers’ bench and was greeted by his equally jubilating teammates. The crowd at Market Square Arena went wild. But as Jalen Rose pointed out, everyone but Larry Bird was celebrating.

“The entire building was in frenzy as we should be,“Rose said. “But please put the camera on Larry Bird… Larry looked up at that clock; it was like a stoic demeanor. Cuz he knew what we all knew, that they had Michael Jordan and there was still time on the clock.”

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Related: “The name will fade” – Gilbert Arenas explains why Michael Jordan only stays relevant because of LeBron James

God disguised as MJ

Bird knew that it was not over. With four-tenths of a second left, the Bulls could still legally get off a shot, not necessarily a dunk or tip-in as per the “Trent Tucker rule.” And Bird knew Jordan like the back of his palm, as he played MJ 34 times during his career, including that iconic 63-point performance in Game 2 of the Bulls-Celtics first-round playoff series in 1986.

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“He was hitting outside shots, driving to the hole. We had about everyone on the team guarding him,”recalled Bird. “He obviously was in a zone. He kept them in the game with big basket after big basket. We couldn’t stop him. We tried to shade him to help, everything. You were talking about a different type of talent.”

Although the Celtics won that game, Larry Legend went on to say that it was “God disguised as Michael Jordan” whom he and his team faced that night. Going back to 1998, Jordan proved he was a mere mortal as he missed the potential game-winner.

The Pacers went on to win the game and tie the series at 2-2.

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Related: “We were very fortunate that he chose us” – Michael Jordan was ecstatic to have Zion Williamson on board with Jordan Brand

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Feb 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.