Knicks 123, Hawks 112: “Julius Curry”

New York’s 123-112 victory over Atlanta ended in the last minute of the third quarter, at least for me. Julius Randle launched a three-point attempt and in mid-flight my screen froze.

It’s past midnight and it’s still frozen. I can’t play anything before or after the moment when Randle caught that 3. The ball stays there, floating without worrying about time or gravity, at the top of the action like the sun over us all.

Do you know the fable of the sun and the wind? One day, someone walking through the forest overhears an argument. They follow the sound until they find the sun and the wind, discussing which one is stronger. The human proposes a contest: whoever gets the person to take off his coat is the winner. The wind blows and blows, blowing until the human falls to the ground. Still, they hold the coat. As soon as the wind runs out, the sun takes its turn. It glows, heating slowly, but continuously, until it is so hot that the person has to take off his coat.

This was a potential preview of the playoff, with the Knicks entering the night in seventh in the East and the Hawks in 10th; if these seeds remain, the teams will meet in the inaugural play-in tournament. The two teams went in opposite directions: the Knicks ended Washington and Houston, while the Hawks entered after losing six of seven.

Continue they did. The Knicks came out as the heat of 1000 suns, and the blue heart of that flame was Julius Randle, hitting 17 on the first shot on 7 out of 8. New York went up double digits for quite a while, but it didn’t look like a big cushion. Maybe it’s just life in NBA three happy today: even when you’re shooting “hot as July”, as Clyde Frazier has described his form lately, five or six point swings are always showing up, especially with Trae Young embodying everyone’s cynicism the worst elements of the sport – the New Jersey Devil’s Neutral Zone trap; PED baseball; José Mourinho Clubs; James Harden / Chris Paul Rockets, who preferred to draw a whistle rather than win. Young kept his hand out all night pleading for fouls and the referees were willing to give in. In the interval, the advantage fell to three; more ominous, Nerlens Noel had three fouls and Taj Gibson four.

Atlanta started the first nine points of the second half. New York responded with yet another Randle stir. In the middle of the third, a miracle medley: Noel hit a pitch (not a typo), the Knicks’ first basket from a center all night. Then he forced a turn, leading to RJ Barrett’s three-point play. He then blocked consecutive attempts at the edge of Kevin Huerter and Skylar Mays, resulting in a nice reversal from Payton that drew in 81. Huerter tested his luck and was denied twice, so when he drove again and found himself two feet from basket with Noel there, he didn’t dare try to shoot. After denying Mays, Noel struggled to keep the offensive rebound away from Clint Capela and in the hands of RJ. An inspiring game spell from the Nerlen Wall (it breaks me that one of Noel’s nicknames is from a Cold War symbol that was destroyed five years before he was born).

Some people will struggle with that, but Elfrid Payton was energized and integral during a 15-2 run. Then my screen froze. So, I never saw what happened.

Or this beautiful finish by Derrick Rose.

Or a later and closed clutch kit in the care of Immanuel Quickley.

Or Quickley driving and going to RJ, who had a good night in RJ.

Or RJ giving breathing space in the final minutes.

Or Randle making a Knick with 44 rebounds and nine rebounds and five assists.

I bet the fourth period was a lot of fun. Knicks win! Knicks win! Knicks win! This season of bright spots continues to shine. Enjoy the heat, friends.

Grades:

• Randle drained a record of seven 3s. I don’t think he will be on the All-Star team this year. Given the silly idea of ​​ASG now, they would be doing him a favor. But he is undoubtedly in All-Star form.
• Randle had a rebound less than his 19th double-double this season. MSG Trivia: Patrick Ewing had 58 doubles in 1993. Who is the only Knick since then with 50+ doubles in one season?
• I really like Barrett. The guy is just a good basketball player. Time course.
• Rose was a very careful distributor. He only finished with three assists, but he cooks and looks for his teammates all night.
• So why did Atlanta recruit Onyeka Okongwu seven months after negotiating a first-round choice in the four-team deal that yielded Chapel? Who had three years and $ 51 million left in their business after last year?
• Clyde after the Hawks nailed it: “And it silenced the crowd.” I missed something? Are there no fans at MSG until the Golden State visit next week? I will grant this to Clyde: on several points it looked like a live crowd was reacting to the swings in the action. Either James Dolan escaped from his closest friends in 2000 or the fake crowd noise is evolving as Derrick of The Good Place.

• Hearing Clyde laugh at Mike Breen this season … what a blessing those two are.
• Trivial answer: David Lee, who had 65 and 53 pairs in 2009 and 2010.
• If there is space in your capsule hole, tune in to this week’s Jacobin Sports Show. We’ll be talking about all things NBA in our next episode, which means I can talk and talk about the Knicks with my co-host and Celtics fan Jonah Birch. The way C’s look these days, I imagine I’m going to enjoy the whole conversation.

Quoth quote from Walt Clyde: “Julius Curry.” He was curry in every way – spicy, Seth and Steph. The next game is Wednesday in Orlando. Make sure you get it because after that you won’t see the Knicks for four days. Saturday’s game against San Antonio is not happening.

Please be safe, guys.