Knicks' year in review: Playoff run rocked the Garden before injuries mounted
The Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo reacts after hitting the game-winning shot in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers during Game 2 of their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at Madison Square Garden. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
For all of the work that goes into a season, from training camp to postseason, the awards and accolades can all become meaningless in one night if expectations aren’t met in the playoffs. And in Game 2 of the opening round, the Knicks seemed to have let it all get away from them.
They trailed the Philadelphia 76ers by five points in the final 30 seconds, with home-court advantage and the adulation of the city in danger of slipping away.
But in a flurry of shots, steals, rebounds and heroics, the Knicks survived in a Garden-shaking event that will go down in franchise lore. And maybe that history will endure longer than the team did.
Donte DiVincenzo hit the game-winning three-pointer, setting off a wild celebration that spilled into the streets of midtown Manhattan. But after that game, the Knicks began to fall apart. Injuries depleted them until they finally saw the season end in a Game 7 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and finally Jalen Brunson were sidelined by injuries as they limped to the finish. And then in the offseason, the Knicks broke it apart, trading Randle and DiVincenzo to Minnesota, reworking the roster and attempting a rebuilt run at a title.
But even though it ended that way, it will be hard to recapture what the run meant in the city. Defying expectations and overachieving with a blue-collar approach, the Knicks set off wild celebrations outside Madison Square Garden when they won.
Even after he was traded, DiVincenzo recalled the game-winning shot as the highlight of his career. He missed the first attempt, and after a wild scramble, the ball came back to him again and he didn’t hesitate.
“The reason why is not because of the game, because of the situation,” DiVincenzo said. “The reason why is the floor was shaking. We were in the timeout and the floor was shaking. I’ve never been a part of something like that. I really wanted that second shot because I missed the first one. I was like, ‘Bro, Knicks fans are not going to let me live this down if I don’t get this one back.’ That’s by far the No. 1 memory.”
The Knicks, now with Karl-Anthony Towns forming a 1-2 punch with Brunson, could move past the second round this season and maybe even get the championship banner that has eluded them for more than 50 years. But duplicating the magic, what they brought to the city, will be hard to do.
When the final game was over, the fans still filled the streets around the Garden. Brunson and Hart walked among them, acknowledging the city and the fans as much as the fans celebrated them. There is no banner for that, but there is a magic that is rare.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
