Heart on a Book Drawing
It was a game that had just about everything.
Big stars lined the sidelines at historic Madison Square Garden as two longtime rivals battled, providing enough eye-popping plays to fill a Spike Lee film.
It took two overtimes to decide it, as the Knicks and Celtics valiantly clawed to etch a new mark into the rivalry's storied history book. Marcus Smart knocked down a clutch 3-pointer to send it to the first OT before both units went cold in the last three minutes of extra time, failing to score with the tally knotted at 128.
With a minute left in the second overtime, Evan Fournier lost his man with a deft pump-fake, side-stepping to knock in a 3 to take the lead. Derrick Rose followed by dropping in a floater to put New York up 138-134 with 22.5 seconds left to play. That score would hold.
Whew.
Every one of these guys needs a breather. Or two.
The numbers from the affair were astonishing.
Jaylen Brown erupted for 46 points and nine rebounds just 12 days after testing positive for COVID-19. Julius Randle cooked up a 35-piece special in what was almost a triple-double (he had nine assists and eight rebounds). Fournier ingratiated himself with the New York faithful with a 32-point outburst, while Jayson Tatum, despite a poor shooting night, scored 20 of his own.
But only one number matters at the end of the day, and that's the number of wins now on New York's record.
To Colin Cowherd, wins are what New York is all about.
"New York sports executives think fans want stars, but what fans want in New York is what fans want everywhere: winners," he said Thursday on "The Herd."
"When you watch the Knicks play, I find them so redeemable and so easy to root for because they're winners. Julius Randle's on his third team. Fournier is on his third or fourth team. Kemba Walker, the Celtics bailed on him. If you watched that crowd last night, that city loves this team. They play defense, they play hard, they don't have anybody as good as Tatum or Brown, but there is something to be said. The Knicks right now are winners."
Although he's not from New York, Cowherd said he felt like part of the Knicks community.
"Totally relatable team," he said. "Every rebound they're battling for. Every loose ball they're battling for. Every possession they play defense. The Knicks aren't going to win the East, but they're a top-three or -four team. Love watching them. Inartistic but so much fun."
Cowherd doesn't project the Knicks to be an Eastern Conference front-runner, but others in the media do.
"Julius Randle is clutch," Stephen A. Smith said Thursday on "First Take." "RJ Barrett has improved his 3-point shot. Mitchell Robinson is a big body, 7-[foot]-1, rim protector, rebounder. He's in the mix. They ramped things up defensively. I'm looking at the New York Knicks right now, and they're getting to the semifinals. The only teams in the Eastern Conference that are safe from the New York Knicks are the Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets. Anybody else can get had!"
There's a vibrant, new life brewing at MSG, and these Knicks are poised to bring big back to the Big Apple.
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Source: https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/knicks-drawing-attention-for-heart-and-hustle-after-thrilling-win-over-celtics