An elated Mattucci, who had mostly kept the news of the tape’s existence under wraps in case the transfer was unsuccessful, could finally let the cat out of the bag. “I felt like I was pregnant,” he joked. “I had this great news, but I couldn’t tell anybody for three months.”
Finally, a missing chapter of Knicks history has been restored. The rebroadcast of Game 5 will give many Knicks fans the chance to see one of the greatest Knicks teams in action for the first time.
“The ’73 Knicks team, which achieved just as much success as the 1970 team, is now in the spotlight because we have the broadcast to tell the story,” Mattucci said. “And it really was the last hurrah for this core group of guys who had great chemistry together. Reed retired in 1974, DeBusschere retired. Frazier, Monroe and Bradley were at the end of their careers. 1973 was the end of a dynasty.”