New York Knicks legend Willis Reed once tried to fight an entire Los Angeles Lakers team.
This urban legend has been known for decades, and joins Reed's return to Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals in the New York Knicks canon. Until Tuesday, though, video evidence was difficult to come by.
ESPN's latest 30 for 30 documentary, When The Garden Was Eden, debuted Tuesday, containing rare footage of the Oct. 19, 1966 event, when Reed tried to take on the entire Lakers squad.
Deadspin was able to dig up a chunk of the accompanying New York Times game story, written by Dave Anderson:
In the confusion Reed flattened (Darrell) Imhoff, a 6-foot-10-inch, 220-pound center, with a punch over the left eye. (John) Block, a 6-9, 210-pound rookie center, suffered a bloody nose, which turned out to have been fractured.
Imhoff, holding a bloodied towel to his face, lay sprawled in front of the Laker bench for several minutes while the police restored order among a few of the 15,755 spectators who had run onto the court for a ringside view.
Imhoff needed one stitch to close a cut on his left eyelid. LaRusso, who is 6-8 and weighs 225, later admitted that "Reed hit me a couple good ones." Both were ejected from the game.
That's unbelievable. Reed returned from an injury in a Finals Game 7, and it may only be the second most bad-ass moment of his career.
