June 17, 1994, will always be remembered as the day when O.J. Simpson led Los Angeles police on a low-speed chase that captured the attention of the entire nation.
The incident was so massive that it interrupted TV broadcasts across the country, including the coverage of the 1994 NBA Finals on NBC. The TV network, which employed Simpson as an NFL sideline reporter, changed to a split-screen broadcast to give attention to Simpson's two-hour chase across Southern California.
Years after the incident, Jeff Van Gundy , then an assistant for the Knicks , says the two events were related because Simpson's infamous Ford Bronco travelled at low speed because of Game 5 of the 1994 NBA Finals.
"That summer, Pat Riley always went back out to LA. He had a house there. And he ran into the driver of the car, A.C. Cowlings, at a car wash. They both were getting their cars detailed, and A.C. Cowlings knew Coach Riley peripherally, waved him over and proceeded to tell them the story of why they were driving so slow was," narrated Van Gundy.
Simpson wanted to listen to the NBA Finals
Cowlings and Simpson were teammates at Galileo High School in San Francisco and later at USC, where they both became stars. After he won the Heisman Trophy in 1968, Simpson left USC and became the Buffalo Bills' No.1 overall pick in the 1969 NFL Draft. Cowlings returned to USC in '69, and when he entered the 1970 NFL Draft, the Bills picked him 5th overall, as he was reunited with O.J.
During the chase, Cowlings called 911 from his mobile phone and told the operator that Simpson had a gun to his own head and would shoot himself if he was not allowed to drive to his Brentwood home. Cowlings was arrested after the chase for aiding a fugitive but was later released with the charges dropped. Free to walk the streets, he bumped into Pat Riley one day and told the former Knicks head coach a bizarre story.
"O.J. wanted them to hear the end of the game on the radio before he pulled in. And when Coach Riley told us that story, I was mesmerized by what really goes on. I could just see him having the gun to his head, saying, 'Turn up the radio, A.C., so I can hear the last few minutes,'" he added.
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The Knicks took a 3-2 series lead that day
With the series tied at 2-2, the Knicks and Rockets were locked in a tight battle in the second quarter when the TV broadcast was first interrupted. Basketball coverage resumed after the update but as the chase continued, NBC decided to demote Game 5 into a small box at the bottom right side of the screen while muting Marv Albert's play-by-play account to focus on Simpson.
Amidst the drama, Patrick Ewing scored 25 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and blocked 8 shots in 43 minutes of action to lead the Knicks to a 91-84 win over the Rockets. John Starks added 19 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals, while Anthony Mason scored 17 points with 9 rebounds, and the Knicks took a monumental 3-2 series lead.
Unfortunately for Riley, Van Gundy, and the Knicks, the Rockets won the next two games in Houston to clinch the franchise's first NBA championship. Simpson ended up getting arrested, tried, and later acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend.
Related: "Is he really on the run?" - Rudy Tomjanovich to Kenny Smith about O.J. Simpson's Bronco chase during 1994 Finals
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