Columnists wrote:
"This was Michael Jordan's night of revenge. At 37, after changing teams and enduring endless doubts about whether he still had the old fire, he silenced every critic with an epic individual performance. Miller gambled his reputation on a provocation, only to suffer a crushing defeat."
The New York Times Sports Section ran this front-page headline:
<The Dynasty Marches On as the Knicks Easily Tear Apart the Pacers at Home>
The report spent considerable space describing how the Knicks' two cores coexisted.
It especially noted that Li Fei had held back offensively this game while still dominating the paint.
"The most terrifying thing about these Knicks is not that one superstar is unstoppable, but that they have two elite weapons ready at all times. When Jordan is scorching hot, Li Fei can calmly hold down the back line; once Jordan is slowed, the league's best player takes over the game."
The New York Post's headline was even more explosive.
<Trash-Talk War Ends as Miller Swallows a Bitter Defeat>
The report connected Miller's pregame remarks, every matchup during the game, and his defiant postgame comments into one complete narrative.
It wrote without hesitation that even after such a devastating loss, Reggie Miller still had not been beaten into submission by Jordan.
Indiana's local Indianapolis Star struck a heavy, oppressive tone.
Its front-page headline read: <Stumbles Before Home Battle, Pacers Urgently Need an Answer to Break the Deadlock>
The article did not harshly blame Miller personally.
It objectively acknowledged that Jordan's form that night had been impossible to stop.
At the same time, it pointed out the team's greatest problem: their top perimeter shot creator had been tightly contained, leaving their team system unable to show its power.
It called on the entire team to quickly reset mentally and fight