On Friday night, the Knicks shockingly blew out the defending champion Boston Celtics, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years.
The resilient team also moved another step closer to what New York City has been dreaming of and waiting so long for.
An NBA title.
If you’re a long-suffering Knicks fan, you understand the pain, excitement, disappointment, thrill, heartbreak and heart-pumping anxiety the Knicks impart on you.
The joy of last-second wins and the frustration of losses to sub-par teams during the regular season. The hope after making the postseason and the agony of exiting in the second round.
This is an unfortunate rite of passage for all Knicks fans, regardless of age.
The current team is no exception, for while they’ve overcome bad lapses in play to advance to the Conference Finals, they have also given fans games to forget.
After a hard-fought first-round series against the Pistons, the Knicks entered the second round to face the Boston Celtics, a team that had demolished them in their four matchups in the regular season.
After the Knicks stole Game 1 in Boston thanks to gritty play and a Mikal Bridges steal in the final few seconds, many, including Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd, dismissed the win as a fluke.
“Knicks fans, I’ve never seen a Game 1 win that means less. This is the only game the Knicks are going to win,” said a completely dismissive Cowherd. “Enjoy the moment Knicks fans, you are feeling it today…oh give me a break.”
After winning Game 2 on the road, some hesitantly changed their tune while diehards maintained their unwavering belief in the team.
They lost Game 3 at home, then won Game 4, and a rousing “Knicks in Five!” chant erupted across the city as the team headed North to Boston.
But after a Game 5 blowout loss, the fears crept back into the minds of older Knicks fans who had flashbacks to the pain of previous series where the team teased fans and giving them false hope, only to lose, ripping the hearts from crushed fans.
The start to Game 6 felt completely different as OG Anunoby and KAT started off hot. The defense also picked up, playing better on pick-and-roll situations and holding the Celtics to 33.3% shooting. Even more importantly, the Celtics were artic blast cold from three-point land, shooting 3-10 in the 1Q.
The 2Q brought more pain for Boston as the Knicks turned up the pressure and suddenly the lead was 27 as the teams headed into the locker rooms.
Fans were in a frenzy, but some doubt lingered as the Celtics proved they could cut a lead down with their three-point shooting.
Yet that doubt was quickly dismissed as the Knicks opened up a can of whoop a**, pushing the lead to 40 points late in the 3Q.
In the end, the Knicks routed their Eastern Conference rivals, 119-81, an obliteration after which Knicks fans spilled onto 7th avenue to celebrate, talk smack and even climb the giant billboard in front of the arena.
This weekend will be a time to enjoy the win for the team, franchise and fans. For older fans like myself, it’s a chance to rekindle the hope we always had and reminisce about memorable championship years like 1994 and 1999.
Unfortunately, those memories are painful ones as they both ended in heartbreak.
But this year feels different.
This team has overcome criticism and bad loses and while they struggled, they ultimately found a way to overcome the challenges they encountered.
And while fans have to wait until Wednesday to play the Pacers in Game 1 at MSG, and endure the painful memories and video montages of Reggie Miller’s 1995 Game 1 heroics at the Garden, hope remains strong that this team can beat the Pacers and give the city what we’ve all been painstakingly waiting for.
An NBA championship.
Obstructing that goal are 8 victories, yet the 2024-25 Knicks have made the city believe that it can do what Ewing, Starks, Houston, LJ and Sprewell could not.
And if Jalen Brunson and company do just that, the parade in the Canyon of Heroes will be the most electrifying, city shutting down, everyone calling out sick, time-stopping event in New York sports history.
