Kendrick Perkins took another shot at TNT’s NBA coverage.
The New York Knicks faced the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of their second-round series on Wednesday night. Former Pacers legend Reggie Miller, synonymous with tormenting the Knicks during his Hall of Fame career, called the game for TNT.
Perkins, an ESPN analyst, accused the rival network of focusing too much on Miller’s former feud with New York during the broadcast. He was waiting for an update on Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who exited the game with an apparent foot injury in the first half.
“Are we going to make this entire game about Reggie Miller? Or can I know if Big Body Brunson is going to return or not,” Perkins asked on social media. “Jesus Christ.”
Miller, who taunted Knicks superfan Spike Lee with a choke sign 20 years ago, put aside objectivity when playfully trash-talking his former foe before the game.
“I know people are going to be like, ‘Aren’t you worried about going back to New York City and calling this game?’ No. I’ve owned this city. I’ve owned this building,” Miller declared. “So why would I be worried about walking on out there?”
This isn’t the first time Perkins has gone after TNT. The former center said last month it was “obvious” Shaquille O’Neal and Charley Barkley “don’t watch basketball” based on how they covered the Knicks.
The Inside the NBA crew responded by showing and laughing at a clip of Blake Griffin dunking over Perkins. They called Perkins a “roach” and Barkley joked about getting called out by someone who averaged five points per game.
“I have great respect for both of those legends over there, Charles and Shaq,” Perkins responded on The Michael Kay Show earlier this week, via Awful Announcing. “The only problem that I had with it is the calling out on my name as a roach … Other than that, it’s all fun and games. And hopefully that made them up their game and actually start watching the games even more.”
To answer Perkins’ inquiry, Brunson returned to start the second half. The Knicks opened the third quarter on a 21-6 run to erase a 10-point deficit.