With less than a minute remaining in the Knicks' eventual 130-121 victory, the Madison Square Garden crowd erupted into chants of "F–k you, Reggie!" Miller, a longstanding adversary of the Knicks due to his rivalry with them during six playoff series between 1993 and 2000, was calling the second-round game for TNT.

Hart, leaning over from the court, directed Miller's attention to the crowd, saying, "I don't know if you heard, I think they said, 'F–k you,'" which was caught on the live TNT broadcast.

Miller, who had covered the Nuggets-Timberwolves series prior to Wednesday’s game, had anticipated some backlash from Knicks fans. He mentioned on "The Dan Patrick Show" that he would be "a little hurt" if they didn't heckle him.

During his pregame segment on TNT, Miller responded defiantly to any concerns about calling the game in New York. "People ask, 'Aren't you worried about calling a game in New York City?' No. I've owned this city, I've owned this building, so why would I be worried?"

Miller, who averaged 23.1 points in 35 playoff games against the Knicks, led his Pacers to three series victories out of six against them. Notably, he taunted Knicks superfan Spike Lee with a "choke" gesture after a Pacers comeback in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. In 1995, he famously scored eight points in under nine seconds during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Despite the long-standing rivalry, Lee noted to the Daily News that his feud with Miller was settled two decades ago. "Me and Reggie squashed that stuff 20 years ago, so we're friends," he said.