Knicks 109, Pacers 106: There is no deficit
Who coulda seen this win coming? Anyone watching the Knicks this month.
Grant Morrison’s graphic novel The Invisibles mentions a riddle: somewhere there’s a glass bottle with a goose trapped inside of it. How do you free the goose without breaking the bottle or killing the bird? More than most artifacts of childhood, riddles age well; the magic of riddles lies in contemplation of their question more than discovering their answer. Riddles are locks whose keys are always visible, if only you know where to look. Or not to look.
The New York Knicks went into Indiana last night on a six-game winning streak, carrying enough goodwill that a loss to the Pacers wouldn’t tarnish it. Six out of a seven is always welcome, especially when the players winning those games are 28, 26, 24, 24, 24, 23, 22, 22 and 22. So when the Knicks trailed by six with a little over five minutes left, then pulled within one, only to fall behind six again with just under two minutes remaining, it’d have been reasonable to rationalize. Can’t complain about six out of seven. Golden State’s missing Steph; Knicks might beat ‘em Tuesday. What’s important is how they’re playing, that it’s repeatable. That means there’s hope.
I’m here to tell you there’s more than just hope here, bub. All those rationalizations, while true, miss the point. Look at this win probability chart from ESPN from last night, a reasonable facsimile of the game flow: the Knicks led most of the way, though never by much; act three found the Pacers in the catbird seat; a dramatic Hollywood ending turns the tide for the good guys.
Except that’d shortchange the truth you already knew, knew down 104-98 with just over 100 seconds left: the Knicks were going to win this game. The three Jalen Brunson swished, then his steal and breakaway lay-up to cut it to one, was just reality, slow as syrup, catching up to what you already knew was happening. The Knicks were going to win.
Julius Randle made six of six free throws over the final 45 seconds to keep the Knicks ahead. But those free throws would have meant something else entirely — or nothing at all — if you didn’t know to look to the defensive end. After the Brunson steal and bucket made it a one-point Indiana lead, Myles Turner missed from deep. It was a good look to surrender: Turner made only two of 10 shots and missed all four of his free throw attempts. On the Pacers’ next possession, Quentin Grimes stole a Buddy Hield pass. On their next possession, Hailburton got Randle 25 feet from the basket, but unlike Dr. Smith Dr. Randle never got lost in space, staying with Hali and forcing the Pacer point into clanging a 3-pointer.
The teams committed virtually identical numbers of turnovers, yet New York doubled up Indiana on points off turnovers. The Knicks entered the game with the league’s eighth-ranked defense and will see that ranking rise after holding the Pacers nearly nine points below their average, on a 43/34/65 shooting slash. The Knick Big 3 combined for 79 points on nearly 50% shooting. All of that touches on how the Knicks won But that’s .isn’t the riddle, is it?
It’s the question that comes up when you look at that probability chart that gets at what’s worth getting. Those last two bottoming-out points are when Indiana went up six in the final minutes. I didn’t need a graphic to tell me the Knicks were in trouble. I didn’t need a probability chart at all. Morrison solved the riddle long ago. How do you free the bird without breaking the bottle or killing the bird? It’s simple: words are just that – words. Not real. Representations of reality. There is no bird in a bottle. Once you know that, you know the bird is free.
How did the Knicks come back from the brink twice in the last half of the last quarter? Simple: they were never really losing. They were just working toward the W. These Knicks are good. These Knicks are four games above .500 for the first time since opening last season 5-1. Good teams, winning teams, are never trapped in the bottle. Down six with two minutes left? There is no deficit. That’s not a crisis, it’s a canvas.
Next game is tomorrow night, when the Mecca welcomes Golden State. Steph Curry won’t be playing. The Knicks will be. How nice to live in a dimension where the spotlight is on your team because they’re winning. Let’s lounge in that light a while.
