MILWAUKEE — Whenever they’ve met over the last few decades — and probably for as long as they live — Scottie Pippen brings up the call.
“Automatically he says, ‘That wasn’t a foul,’ ” Hubert Davis said in an interview with The Post. “I just laugh and say, ‘Why are you upset that they called that foul? You have six NBA rings, and you’re an NBA Hall of Famer. And we have none. We have no rings. So at the end of the day, you won.’ ”
It’s the unfortunate truth for the Knicks.
They have zero titles in 50 years, the third-longest drought of a same-city franchise that has been in the NBA for that long (thank you, Suns, for never winning).
But no team was closer to the Larry O’Brien trophy than the 1993-94 squad, and arguably no play was bigger toward its Finals run than the two foul shots awarded to Davis — and the two shots he converted.
Eastern Conference semifinals. NBAE via Getty Images
They occurred in Game 5 of a 2-2 series of the Eastern Conference semis, with 2.1 seconds remaining and the Knicks trailing the Bulls by a point. Davis, a guard off the bench, was left wide open at the top of the key and received a pass from John Starks.
“It was a wild moment. It was so loud I don’t remember hearing anything,” Davis recalled Monday. “I knew that I was open and I was ready to shoot. And Scottie, who is one of the best all-time defenders, he was in the middle of the lane when I caught it, and he closed out that quickly.”
Pippen connected with Davis’ hand after the release of the missed jumper, which prompted endless debate over whether contact that doesn’t necessarily affect the shot was worthy of a call from ref Hue Hollins.
Pippen’s closeout was hard enough to send Davis falling backward — although the Knicks guard may have also sold it — and the rules on contact after the release are interpretative.
Back then, there were no 2-Minute Reports from the NBA to confirm or deny.
Davis still insists he was fouled.
And even if he wasn’t, there was karmic retribution to consider.
“I was fouled. I was fouled after the shot,” Davis said. “I’m glad he called it because I missed the shot. It wouldn’t have been a surprise if he didn’t call it. But I’m glad he did. But I also felt like there was a foul the year before on Charles Smith in Game 5.
“I think it all evened out.”
Davis still needed to hit the foul shots — which he accomplished while transporting his mind to an empty gym — and the Knicks finally toppled the Bulls in the playoffs, albeit while Michael Jordan played minor league baseball.
1994 Knicks-Bulls Eastern Conference semifinals. NBAE via Getty Images
On Tuesday — during the 30th anniversary of that special Knicks season — Davis returned to Madison Square Garden, the site of the controversial foul call, as the head coach of North Carolina.
His No. 9 Tar Heels later fell 89-76 to No. 5 UConn in the Jimmy V Classic.
The college showcase, which is in its 20th year at MSG, has helped raise nearly $200 million for cancer research and the V Foundation.
The game represented Davis’ second time returning to the Garden as a head coach, and the memories are more powerful than two free throws in Game 5.
“I wish my entire 12-year NBA career could’ve been with the Knicks,” said Davis, who was traded to the Raptors in 1996. “I never wanted to go anyplace else.”
A lot has changed in 30 years, of course. Pippen and Jordan had a public falling out.
Davis and Jordan became teammates in Washington.
More recently, Davis was elevated from UNC assistant to head coach, overseeing an upswing in Year 3 after failing to match the program’s standards last season.
Davis also wouldn’t mind a little GOAT assistance. Jordan, who recently sold his ownership stake in the Hornets, can increase his presence around the UNC team, where he serves as its most famous alum.
“I hope he’s around more often,” said Davis, also a former Tar Heels player. “There’s restrictions and things when you’re owner of an NBA team in terms of your availability, even if it’s a part of your school. Now that that’s gone, my hope is he’ll be around a lot more.
Knicks-Bulls conference semfinals. AFP via Getty Images
“For our players to be around the greatest player of all time, and just being able to develop a relationship with him, I think is just huge.”
What hasn’t changed since Davis was fouled by Pippen: the number of Knicks championship banners in the rafters.
Those ’94 Knicks were bounced in the Finals by the Rockets, with Starks infamously building a brick-condo community in Game 7.
Davis, the team’s leader in 3-point percentage that season at over 40 percent, only played four minutes in the final contest. But he’s not going to second-guess coach Pat Riley.
“I think it’s really easy to look back, and say, woulda, coulda, shoulda,” he said. “To be honest, I didn’t play well that whole series. Confidence-wise, I just wasn’t there. I was struggling with my shot. And John was in a really good groove heading into that game. He was one of our leaders. And it just didn’t work out.”
Regardless, the Knicks probably wouldn’t have been to the Finals without Davis, who believes a formal NBA review would’ve concluded what he felt — a foul on Pippen.
“It was still contact,” he said. “They would’ve looked back on it, and they more than likely would’ve said, ‘Yes, it was the correct call.’
“One of the things I always say, if somebody calls it, it was the correct the call.”
