Knicks 111, Heat 103: 4-on-5
The Knicks staged an epic comeback against the Miami Heat on Friday night. The most impressive part? Somehow they did the whole thing without a “real” point guard on the floor.
Nov. 29, 1969: the New York Knicks rally from six down with 16 seconds left to defeat the Cincinnati Royals for their then-record 18th win in a row. This was before the 3-point shot existed; overcoming a three-possession deficit with 16 seconds left is almost unheard of.
November 18, 1972: the Knicks trail Lew Alcindor and the Milwaukee Bucks 86-68 in the fourth quarter before ending the game on a 19-0 run to win.
January 15, 1990: off an inbounds pass with a tenth of a second remaining, Trent Tucker hits a rainbow miracle to give the Knicks a 109-106 win over the Chicago Bulls.
December 20, 2006: off an inbounds pass with a tenth of a second remaining, David Lee tips in the game-winner as the Knicks beat the Charlotte Hornets 111-109
Last night: down 15 entering the fourth, the Knicks outscore the Miami Heat 38-15 to win 111-104, despite playing 4-on-5 the rest of the game.
The Knicks have had their share of historic comebacks, but last night may be the first to leave both sports books and scientists at a loss. Defying the conventions of fair play, Tom Thibodeau played the entire fourth quarter with only four players. That sounds strange, but what choice did he have? RJ Barrett, Evan Fournier, Alec Burks, Miles McBride, and Quentin Grimes shot a combined 15-48 (31%). And Immanuel Quickley isn’t a point guard, or hadn’t you heard? So with Julius Randle joining Derrick Rose in street clothes, who would run the offense? Who could? Nobody. Luckily for the Knicks, something truly miraculous saved the game.
Of New York’s 38 points in the final frame, 20 of them came from inexplicable or paranormal phenomena. Somehow the ball managed to bounce itself all around the court, sometimes launching from deep and splashing through the twine; sometimes getting past the Heat perimeter D and floating up and through the hoop; sometimes finding one of the four real Knicks for the assist, almost as if there were some intelligent design behind its movements, as if there were a real point guard playing. It was weird.
If the old world is dying and the new one’s yet to be born, then you’re living in a time of monsters and you need you some youthful energy to survive. The Kid Knicks have energy to spare, and did not spare the Heat. Jericho Sims combined with Mitchell Robinson for 17 points on eight shots and 14 rebounds, 11 on the offensive glass. Grimes bullseyed a trifecta of triples. Obi Toppin played another solid game starting in place of Randle, particularly scoring 13 of the team’s 24 in the third to keep the game from getting completely out of reach. McBride only played 17 minutes — a bit light, given that other than Burks, there were no other point guards — but was a positive on both ends.
Barrett struggled shooting but contributed eight rebounds and four assists in addition to getting to the line eight times.
In the fourth, the Knicks went off from deep, many of the makes coming from the invisible hand of the comeback. I had Pepe the Strickland intern digitally add Immanuel Quickley to these phantom play clips, to make it a little easier to believe what you’re seeing. Just pretend IQ is an actual point guard and the deep fake goes down like a spoonful of sugar. Like here, where something led Max Strus to turn the ball over, then took it the length of the court for the transition two.
Point of attack defense and quick-hitters the other way? That’s some real “real” point guard shit. Someday the Knicks will have one of those. Someday.
