Epic Heist

The Knicks stole a Game 1 victory at MSG thanks to a triumvirate of heroes straight out of Tinseltown.

Good morning! Just when you thought it was safe to sit down and exhale…

Game 1: Knicks 121, Pacers 117

In a New York minute…

Unlike most of the first round, the Knicks got out to a strong start, going up by as many as eight late in the first quarter, but Indiana’s bench quickly changed the entire complexion of the game with a pace New York had trouble matching. The Pacers really hit their offensive stride in the second and third quarters, outscoring the Knicks 64-55 while also playing with poise and intensity on defense. Then, down by nine early in the final period, Jalen Brunson returned from a brief rest to lead a fourth quarter rally for the ages. His 21 points in the final 10:17, combined with Josh Hart’s indomitable effort, put the Knicks in position to win, and then with some help from the refs, Donte DiVincenzo brought them home on a go-ahead three in the final minute.

One Thing

In a postseason where it is becoming increasingly difficult to categorize epic wins by shorthand (“Which one was ‘The DiVincenzo game’ again? How many Josh Hart games have we had now? And are any of these not ‘The Jalen Brunson game?’”), it seems fitting to christen this as the Oceans 11 game, for more reasons than one.

It starts, of course, with the cast, where the roles of Danny, Rusty and Linus won’t be played by Clooney, Pitt and Damon, but by Brunson, Hart and DiVincenzo in the current reboot.

(Tom Thibodeau, naturally, is Tess.)

Was stealing last night’s game any less likely than knocking off the Bellagio, the Mirage, and the MGM Grand for $160 million on the night of a heavyweight title bout?

Maybe, maybe not. What isn’t in dispute is that only one triumvirate of crooks had the skills, the savvy, and most importantly, the stones to pull it off.