Heartbreaker

Dammit.

Good morning.

Let’s talk about it.

Game 11: Bulls 124, Knicks 123

• Jalen Brunson missed a shot at the buzzer to win it after making consecutive tie-breaking buckets in the final minute

• New York was down one on the final possession after Josh Hart was called for a foul on a Coby White 3-point attempt with 3.0 seconds remaining and White made all three free throws. Replays appeared to show Hart touched only White’s hair.

• Karl Anthony Towns played like a man possessed in the second half, ending up with 46 points, although he missed two free throws midway through the fourth after a hard foul send him to the line. He also took a hard fall in the final minute but stayed in, hobbling through New York’s penultimate offensive possession.

• New York was pathetic on defense for much of the night, gifting a 22-point third quarter lead to the Bulls before a furious 17-0 run led by Cam Payne got them back in it.

• I could add another 20 bullet points. This game was something else.

As I sit down to write this recap, it’s about an hour after the game ended.

I was…lucky enough? Unfortunate enough? Something enough….to be in attendance, with seats right by New York’s end of the court in the second half. The ball on Brunson’s final attempt was probably 30 feet from me when it was halfway down.

And yet, I never thought it was going in.

In fact, at no point did I allow myself to believe the Knicks were going to win this game. Even when they took a three-point lead midway through the fourth and multiple two-point leads in the final minute, I felt in my gut that they would somehow come up short. Over the last hour, I’ve been trying to figure out why.

Is it because I’m old and weathered and conditioned to think the worst after one too many devastating losses? Probably. Is it because this Knicks’ team has a long way to go to earn the trust that last year’s version built up when they overcame so many trials and tribulations? I’m sure that has something to do with it. Is it because the defensive performance I witnessed over the first 32 minutes of action left no doubt in my mind that they didn’t deserve to win? You betcha.

It all factors in, but the last part is what differentiates this loss from other heartbreakers of years past. Even with the Coby White foul call, this one didn’t feel stolen like the Houston game last year. They didn’t engender nearly the same good will as the shorthanded group that fought like hell but ultimately fell to Luka in Dallas after blowing a 13-point lead in the final 90 seconds. They never had it in their grasp like in Game 5 against Philly.

But they did show us something.

I’m finding it hard to see silver linings after the way this one began and the way it ended, but if there is one to be found, it is that games like this are necessary in every team’s journey. Games where the players realize how high their ceiling is if they just give it everything for a full 48 minutes. Games where they know that the effort wasn’t where it needed to be.

The Knicks didn’t do nearly enough to win last night, but for about 16 minutes, they were a sight to behold.

Here’s six more thoughts on a game that no one who watched will soon forget: