Do You Believe In Miracles?

You knew I wasn't waiting 'till Monday.

On May 16, 1999, on a Sunday evening in Miami, we got our version of The Shot.

I had turned 16 years old less than a week earlier, so while I didn’t have the longest track record of rooting for the Knicks, this was undoubtedly the biggest moment of my life as a fan (and arguably period).

Nearly two and a half decades later, Houston’s game winner still sits a top my all-time personal sports moment ranking, although there have certainly been some competitors - the four-point play, Linsanity’s buzzer beater over Toronto, and in another moment against the Heat often forgotten about, Patrick Ewing’s dunk with 1:20 left in Game 7 of the 2000 Conference Semis to send New York to the East Finals.

We can add another Miami Miracle to the list.

Now: even in a city that has gone as long without a title as this one, Knicks fans will never be so foolish as to conflate regular season success - no matter how improbable - with a big moment in the postseason. Last night’s game-winning heave from Julius Randle is no exception.

But it’s close. As close as a non-playoff moment can get, I’d argue.

Let’s start with the fact that it sure felt like the postseason to anyone watching, and surely to those participating. That’s how the Miami Heat approached this game. After the Knicks went up by as many as 17 points in the first half and led by 15 at halftime, the Heat stormed out of the gate and shaved off eight points in two and a half minutes. They were the only two and a half minutes of the game that New York let their guard down, but they were enough to get the Heat right back in it. For a young team still figuring things out, hopefully it served as a valuable lesson: in a playoff atmosphere, nothing less than locking in for a full 48 minutes will cut it.

From that moment on though, the Knicks traded jab for jab, uppercut for uppercut, and went toe to toe the whole rest of the way. Their opponent did not resemble the Heat team that had slogged their way to a 33-30 record going into this game, but instead were far closer to the team that came within a 3-pointer of making their second NBA Finals in three seasons last spring.

So no, the playoffs don’t start for over a month…but this was as good a test run as we’re likely to see.

But that’s not all that made the shot so special. It also capped arguably the best game of Julius Randle’s career. Randle had 43 points on 16-of-25 shooting that included going 8-of-13 from downtown. All eight felt massive, whether they set the tone early, kept the Knicks ahead in the third, or sent every Knicks fan into a state of delirium at the very end.

Down the stretch, he was nearly impeccable, scoring five of New York’s last seven points before the game winner, including this tough and-one over maybe the best defensive player in the sport to break a tie with just under a minute to go.

I say nearly impeccable, of course, because there was another moment in between this shot and the one at the end which induced a rare double “Bang!” from Mike Breen, one in which Tyler Herro stripped Randle of the ball and raced down the court for a go-ahead bucket. Having watched this player for nearly four years, it almost seemed fitting that such an outstanding night would be defined by such an ignominious play.

Alas, the basketball gods had other things in mind. As they should have. No one in recent New York sports history has had to endure as many ups and downs as Julius, and while he bears some responsibility for the fallow periods, they just make the highs all the more worthy of praise.

If resilience is the quintessential New York quality, then Julius Randle is as perfect an avatar for this fan base as anyone.

Never has his resilience been on greater display, and rarely has he been so forthright in what is driving this success. After the final buzzer, when asked what had gotten into the group to inspire their recent run, Randle said, without hesitation: “We really love each other.” You better believe he means it.

And that - the growing camaraderie that this collection of players seems to be developing for the long haul - is the last reason Randle’s shot has a chance to live on in our memories for long after these guys are retired.

It took us a while to accept this team as good; now we must embrace them as special. There is no other word to describe what we are witnessing. Depending on the night, they are led by either Randle or Jalen Brunson, who himself was a hero of this game, going down with a badly sprained ankle in the third quarter only to return with eight fourth quarter points and a key dime to Mitch with under five to go. Immanuel Quickley continued his 6th Man of the Year campaign as well with eight fourth quarter points of his own, and the big performances continued all the way down the line, as is so often the case. Everyone contributes, and no one flinches at doing their assigned part to lift the group.

Teams that play together and who trust each other don’t always win, but when they’re led by two players who are each capable of looking like an MVP candidate on any given night, success has a funny way of following.

Last night it was Julius. Wednesday it was Jalen. They don’t care who gets the baton. They only care that the race is won.

Last night, yet again, they were the first across the finish line - the eighth straight time they’ve done so, for the second time this season.

Only two other times in franchise history have the Knicks had multiple winning streaks of eight straight games in the same campaign. Both ended in a championship.

So, I’ll ask you once more…do you believe in miracles?

🏀

That’s it for today! A more in depth recap (including ⭐️’s of the Weekend) will be coming on Monday. As always, a big thanks to our sponsor:

See y’all soon! #BlackLivesMatter