Pacers’ Mr. Clutch Comes to Grinding Halt

Please, not another word about Reggie Miller. There’s nothing in sports worse than a guy who runs his mouth and doesn’t deliver when it counts. After missing 15 of 16 shots in Game 1, Miller promised, guaranteed he’d play up to his reputation of great playoff shooting in Game 2. He said the Lakers’ defense wasn’t scaring him, that it was actually giving him open shots, and that he’d turn into Mr. Clutch.

Well, he didn’t. He missed eight of his last 11 shots, he passed up jumpers he normally takes, he passed off to some kid named Austin Croshere, and he didn’t score a single basket in the fourth quarter. So far, in his first trip to the NBA finals, Miller has been a fraud. He’s fine in May at Madison Square Garden, but just another guy not up to The Moment in June.