"He just flat-out kicked my butt," said John Starks, who scored 24 points in a Game 4 loss to the Bulls. "He was knocking down his jump shots, he was hitting his threes, even though I was right in his face."

Michael Jordan bounced back from a horrible 3-of-18 shooting night in Game 3 of the 1993 ECF to score 54 points -- most ever scored against the Knicks in a playoff game -- on 18-of-30 shooting (no dunks) and tie the series at two games apiece.

"He was just in a zone, hitting all those long-range jumpers," said Knicks power forward Charles Oakley. "When I played with him in Chicago, almost all of his points were layups."

After the game, Horace Grant was asked if he would guarantee a victory in Game 5. The power forward responded by saying, "If we play the way we played these last two games, it's definitely a guaranteed win for us."

Doc Rivers responded by asking, "Is Horace some fortuneteller?"

Turns out Grant was right and the Bulls won the next two games behind Jordan's triple-double (29/10/14) in Game 5 and a 25-point 9 assist game in Game 6.

HIGHLIGHTS OF GAMES 4-6

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Dan Le Batard finally got an answer to the question, "Which New York Knick was Biggie talking about in the song 'I Got A Story To Tell.'"

Back in 2012, Jerry L Barrow of The Urban Daily did a great breakdown of the lyrics to narrow down the choices to Allan Houston, Larry Johnson and Hubert Davis.

I’m up in this b*tch player this b*tch fucking run them old Knick ass n*ggas and shit, I’m up in the spot though. One of them six-five n*ggas, I don’t know.

Ok, here is the one clue that can help narrow down the suspects. The Knicks roster from 1996 to 1997 listed two players at 6’6″; Allan Houston and Larry Johnson–no one at 6’5″. However, during the 1995-1996 season there was only ONE player listed at 6’5…Hubert Davis.

Then in 2014, Batard asked guest and former 90's Knick John Starks the question on live television. Starks wouldn't give up the goods but did make it clear that Biggie wasn't talking about him.

On Monday, rapper Fat Joe (who was a much better rapper during those 90s days) confirmed it wasn't Starks...or Houston, LJ or Davis. It turns out the Knick was the very underrated Anthony "Can guard any position" Mason, who unfortunately passed away last year.

MASON IN THE BEST KEPT SECRET VIDEO

90s NBA & BIGGIE

Old school NBA and Biggie fans might remember the first time many of us heard Biggie was on the original NBA Jam VHS tape.  The last track called "Jam Session" featured Troo-Kula, the late Heavy D and another late great fat rapper going by the name of Biggie Smalls.

Also in 1993, Biggie made a more memorable appearance on the Supercat remix of "Dolly My Baby" which features Puffy in a Shaq jersey delivering one of the worst verses in hip hop history before Biggie said his first classic verse.

Then in 1996, Shaq dropped the underrated single "You Can't Stop The Reign" featuring Biggie and a cool sample from the group Loose Ends.

The post Fat Joe Reveals Biggie's 'I Got A Story To Tell' Was About Knicks' Anthony Mason appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

"People always talk about mishaps in the N.B.A. finals. To this day, people bring it up. You can't get away from it, but it doesn't stop you from living." - John Starks

In game 7?of the 1994 playoffs between the Knicks and Rockets, All-Star John Starks missed 16 of 18 shots including all 11 of his 3-point attempts!

Despite playing eight seasons with the Knicks and being the all-time leader in made 3-point goals for the franchise, a lot of New Yorkers will still bring this game up as soon as you mention Starks' name. Never mind how well he played in the other games, especially GM6 when he scored 27 points (16 in the 4th quarter) and shot 5 of 9 downtown. Actually, those same people who complain about GM7 will probably bring up the final play of GM6 when Starks had a three blocked by Hakeem and the Rockets came away with a two-point victory. My response to them is Starks was fouled by Olajuwon -- which would have been his 6th -- on the final play.

But the foul wasn't called and memories of GM6 have faded and/or been erased by the anniversary of GM7.

Here's what Coach Pat Riley had to say about John after the infamous game.

“All the critics and the naysayers that looked hard at that and criticized the fact that John was still in the game don’t and did not, take into account that we would have never gotten to Game 7 if it wasn’t for John. In Games 4 and 5, he had double-digit fourth-quarter performances. In Game 5, without him getting 11 points in the fourth quarter, we wouldn’t have won. In Game 6, he had 16 points in the fourth quarter. He was really, really playing well in fourth quarters, making big shots and making big plays.”

REVENGE?

Starks did get a bit of personal revenge during the next season when the Knicks visited the Rockets for their first regular season meeting: Starks scored 22 points, dished out 7 assists and even dunked on Hakeem (1:07). But Hakeem and the Rockets had the last laugh again. The Knicks were eliminated in the 2nd round by Knick Killer Reggie Miller and the Rockets somehow made it to the NBA Finals, swept the Orlando Magic and became Clutch City with back-to-back championships.

STEPH CURRY BREAKS STARKS' RECORD

In GM2 of the 2015 NBA Finals, MVP Steph Curry broke the 21-year-old record set by Starks for most missed 3-pointers in the finals when he went 2-15 from downtown. But lucky for Curry, who shot 5 of 23 from the field in GM2, the Warriors had more games left to play in the finals and would go on to win the NBA Championship without the need of going to a GM7.

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Knicks legend John Starks was asked some great questions by hosts Dan Le Batard and Bomani Jones during his recent appearance on ESPN'S Highly Questionable. The best being if Biggie's classic song "I Got A Story to Tell" was about him.

Now, I never suspected the Knick who got robbed in the song was the former NBA All-Star and Sixth Man Award winner; I always thought it was Allan Houston...or maybe I just wanted it to be overpaid Houston. Starks wanted to make it clear it wasn't him but the story is true and he does know who the song is about. As expected, he wouldn't give us the pleasure of knowing who it is (Hubert Davis?).

Back in 2012, Jerry L Barrow of The Urban Daily did a great breakdown of the lyrics to narrow down the choices since Starks wasn't giving up the goods.

The sh*t she kicked, all the sh*t’s legit
She get d*ck from a player off the New York Knicks
N*gga tricked ridiculous, the sh*t was plush

This establishes who he was violatin’. Notorious B.IG.’s Life After Death was recorded between September of 1995 and January of 1997. So that is the window of time we’re starting with.

We f*cked in his bed, quite dangerous
I’m in his ass while he playing against the Utah Jazz

Assuming this happened in NY, the New York Knicks played the Utah Jazz at The Garden on November 12, 1995. This was the only time the Jazz played the Knicks on their home court all season. So even if you want to debate the who, this is definitely the day somebody got the bedroom intruder treatment.

My 112, CD blast, I was past
She came twice I came last, roll the grass

**112’s debut CD was released in August of 1996, but was recorded between 1995 and 1996. Did Biggie have an advance? Very possible. If Big Poppa was rolling around with theme music to smash to (remember it was HIS 112 CD) chances are it was CD-R written on with a sharpie from the studio.

I’m up in this b*tch player this b*tch fucking run them old Knick ass n*ggas and shit,
I’m up in the spot though. One of them six-five n*ggas, I don’t know.

Ok, here is the one clue that can help narrow down the suspects. The Knicks roster from 1996 to 1997 listed two players at 6’6″; Allan Houston and Larry Johnson–no one at 6’5″. However, during the1995-1996 season there was only ONE player listed at 6’5…Hubert Davis.

During the aforementioned game in November of ’95 Hubert Davis only played for 9 minutes, scoring 4 points on one bucket and two free throws. Davis was a 3-pt specialist that averaged 10pts per game that season. This subpar performance makes “The Maestro” the most likely Knickerbocker to leave the locker room early after the game and head home to be consoled  by his wife. Boy was he wrong.

OK. Let's go with Hubert Davis!  This song is for you!

UPDATE: WAIT A MINUTE....

On a 2016 episode of the Highly Questionable, guest rapper Fat Joe (who was a much better rapper during the 90s) answered the question: It was Anthony “Can guard any position” Mason, who was also featured in the video "Best Kept Secret" by underrated 90's rapper Diamond D.

BIGGIE & THE NBA

Old school NBA and Biggie fans might remember the first time many of us heard of Biggie was on the original NBA Jam VHS tape. The last track on the mixtape, called Jam Session, featured a rapper named Troo-Kula, the late Heavy D and another late great fat rapper going by the name of Biggie Smalls.

Also in 1993, Biggie made a more memorable appearance on the Supercat remix of Dolly My Baby, which features Puffy in a Shaq jersey delivering one of the worst verses in hip-hop history. Thankfully, Biggie made us forget about it by delivering his first classic verse.

Then in 1996, Shaq dropped the underrated single You Can't Stop The Reign featuring Biggie and a cool sample from the group Loose Ends.

STARKS ON MJ

One last thing about the John Starks interview. The first question was about John Starks' infamous dunk from Tuesday, May 25th of 1993 "on" Michael Jordan and if he owned any posters of it. He said he had a painting of it. What I have is a very interesting item featuring that dunk. You might notice something, or should I say someone, is missing from that item.

Unlike the Biggie song, this isn't that big of a mystery. Upper Deck had an exclusive contract with Jordan that prevented other companies from using his image even if they had a NBA license. This is also why Jordan isn't in 90's videos games like NBA Jam and NBA Live.

Anyways, here's video footage of the infamous dunk followed by a short interview with the guy who went undrafted in 1988, tried out for the Knicks in 1990, made the All-Defensive Team in 1993, All-Star team in 1994 and became the first player with 200 threes in a season in 1995.

The post John Starks Admits Biggie's Song "I Got A Story To Tell" About A Knick Getting Robbed Is A True Story appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.