NEW YORK — This one was for all the people whose last resort was to believe in Cleanthony Early, only to leave Madison Square Garden early night after night. This one was for everyone who was subjected to Jared Jeffries’ 135 career starts as a Knick. This one was for those who bought Frank Ntilikina’s jersey, hoping, believing and praying he’d be the savior. This was for the people who spent hard-earned money to watch Lou Amundson and Ron Baker. For everyone who missed a party to tune in to Damyean Dotson.
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This one was for the New York Knicks faithful.
After 25 long, humbling and frustrating seasons, the New York Knicks — excuse me — your New York Knicks are back in the Eastern Conference finals after defeating the defending-champion Boston Celtics in six games.
The players aren’t satisfied. They don’t play this game for conference finals appearances. That’s why this one is for you. No more jokes about your Knicks. No more worrying about the NBA Draft Lottery. No more second-round picks getting the loudest applause inside the sport’s most famous arena. New York basketball is back, relevant and thriving, and this just might be the beginning of what’s to come.
“Josh (Hart) showed me a video, walking over here, of people climbing up lightposts,” Knicks forward Mikal Bridges said. “It’s crazy, man. Great for them. Happy for them. Obviously, I’m new here, but I know how much New York loves their sports, especially the Knicks. I’m so excited to be a part of it.
“They can enjoy it for us right now, but obviously, we’ve got way more to go. I’m happy for them.”
Outside of Madison Square Garden was chaotic bliss. It was like thousands of people were all at once freed from a long jail sentence. Strangers were hugging. Adults were crying. The corner of West 33rd Street and Eighth Avenue wasn’t a pathway for transit; it was a jungle gym for the world’s most starved fan base, which just saw its team close a playoff series at home for the first time since 1999. People were dancing on top of a taxi booth while a Busta Rhymes song blasted out of a speaker. There were breakdancers on stairs. Adults, all draped in orange and blue, were running and screaming like toddlers on the playground. Someone used a fence to crowd-surf over thousands.
New York Knicks fans celebrate outside of Madison Square Garden after their Game 6 victory over the reigning champion Boston Celtics. (Leonardo Munoz / AFP via Getty Images)
Inside Madison Square Garden, basketball perfection just happened. The Knicks didn’t just beat the Celtics; they destroyed them. It was a 38-point victory, to be precise. Every starter scored in double figures. A franchise that set out last summer to put together one of the best starting lineups in the sport saw it pay off during the most high-stakes game played around this part of New York in a quarter-century. The fans, packed like sardines, lived on every pass, dribble, shot and defensive stop. It was like 25 years of pent-up frustration all being released forcefully.
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Jalen Brunson, the captain, who willed this organization to this point time and time again with clutch performances, put up a cool 23 points. Josh Hart, with his left eye mangled, stitched and half open, looking like he just went 12 rounds with Sugar Ray Robinson, posted a triple-double. OG Anunoby scored, blocked and stole the ball on nearly every possession. Bridges, the root of some fan frustration this season, once again rose to the moment in a big game, scoring 22 points. Karl-Anthony Towns was bruising and focused, just like everyone wanted to see. Mitchell Robinson came off the bench and continued to be a problem for Boston. Miles “Deuce” McBride heard his nickname chanted by tens of thousands over and over en route to 10 points off the bench. And we can’t forget the coach, Tom Thibodeau, who desperately pleaded for his team to play a full 48 minutes after its Game 5 stinker and got it out of them in 48 hours’ time.
These Knicks are worth getting behind. These Knicks are worth investing in. If we’ve learned anything in these playoffs, it’s that this collection of characters doesn’t quit. This group does what people say it can’t. It’s not always pretty. It sure can be frustrating. Yet, in the end, the Knicks always find a way.
“We made the emphasis to come out with a lot of energy, to fly around,” Anunoby said. “We corrected what we saw on film and maintained it for the whole game.”
At halftime, with the Knicks up big, three Madison Square Garden workers who are also die-hard fans were in an elevator talking about what they had just witnessed. One said to the other two, “I told you all we got this. We’re damn near up 30!” The other two security guards, both old enough to know confidence and the Knicks haven’t been the greatest combination for the greater part of 25 years, said to their friend, in unison, “Whoa, whoa! Let’s just wait.” The confident one said, “Nah, we got this.”
When the game ended, in one of the few stairways that serve as an exit to outside, dozens of Knicks fans started a “Let’s go, Knicks!” chant that was as loud as the marijuana smell that is synonymous with that staircase. Trapped among them was a young Celtics fan and his father. The boy combated the Knicks fans by saying, “Let’s go, Celtics!” His father wisely told his grieving son, “We can’t do that when we lose by 30.” The Knicks fans in the area appreciated the young boy’s efforts but then went back to playfully reminding him who had won.
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“We definitely felt the energy,” Brunson said. “The way that they’ve been supporting us all year, it’s been remarkable. I’m really happy that we were able to do that.”
Brunson was there when the Knicks last made the Eastern Conference finals. Brunson was a 3-year-old in 2000, running around while his father, Rick, sported the same jersey that he now wears. Brunson, now 28, is reminded of those days whenever he goes to his father’s house. It’s hanging on his wall.
“It’s pretty cool to see,” the younger Brunson said.
The Knicks are legitimate NBA title contenders. That is a fact. When the dust settles from the second round, New York will be one of the last four teams standing. There are people who have never witnessed the Knicks at these heights. They’ve only heard stories. Now, parents and grandparents can share these moments with their loved ones, instead of passing their memories down like folklore.
New York basketball took a winding path to get to this point, but it’s here. The only thing separating the Knicks from the NBA Finals is a familiar nemesis: the Indiana Pacers. That’s where the players’ focus has shifted. The fans’ will, too, but give them a couple of days. Knicks fans deserve this.
(Top photo of Jalen Brunson: Al Bello / Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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