But even the greatest Knicks teams have had to deal with the injury bugaboo. Most famously, of course, was 1970, when Willis Reed tore his thigh muscle in Game 5 of the Finals against the Lakers.

For a few minutes, Auburn was without its National Player of the Year contender. But then, like Willis Reed in the 1970 NBA Finals, Broome was back in the game. He didn't need to do everything.

Willis Reed style, to raucous applause from the Auburn faithful on hand: After Tracy Wolfson clarified that X-rays were negative on Broome's injuries, he went back to work almost immediately after ...

"I think Willis Reed missed a whole half and three quarters almost of a game and literally had to have a shot, a horse shot, three or four of them in his thigh, to come back out and play.

"It was a Willis Reed moment. But then he comes out there and bangs the three ball," Pearl said. Reed famously suffered a serious injury in Game 5 of 1970 NBA finals and missed Game 6. Moments ...

Auburn held off Michigan State, winning 70-64, to give the program its second ever Final Four appearance, both achieved under ...

NBA Hall of Famer Willis Reed, who won two championships ... After missing the previous game due to a thigh injury, Reed stunned fans by walking onto the Madison Square Garden court during warmups ...

During the interview, Pearl compared Johni Broome’s return from injury in the Elite Eight game against the Michigan State Spartans to Willis Reed’s legendary moment in the 1970 NBA Finals.