BANG!! BANG!!!
If there was any lingering doubt 24 hours ago, it's now officially official: There is something special going on with these Knicks...
One year ago today, March 4, 2022, the Knicks lost to the Suns in Phoenix. In that contest, an out-of-control Julius Randle was ejected after getting hit with two technicals and the Knicks blew a 14-point second-half lead, losing a heartbreaker, 115-114, when Cam Johnson banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer.
The defeat dropped New York to 25-38 on the season, 13 games below .500. It was the low point in a lost season.
One year later, Julius Randle authored one of the best performances of his career and knocked down an incredible, miraculous game-winning three-pointer of his own to give the Knicks a two-point victory over Miami. The win improved New York's record to 38-27, topping last year's win total with 17 games still on the schedule. It was a new high point in what has become an unimaginably enjoyable season.
If you believe in omens or special signs, those two events happening a year apart is pretty cool.
One of the many reasons this current Knicks campaign has been so satisfying is the "Randle Redemption" arc. And that storyline took another improbable, remarkable, assurgent turn Friday night.
Randle put the Knicks on his back in Miami. He scored 20 points in the first quarter and finished with 43 (on just 25 FG attempts) to go along with nine rebounds, three assists, one block, and eight 3-pointers.
Yet, with less than a minute left in regulation, the score was tied at 116 after Miami had made a spirited comeback in the final frame. Randle went to work on the low block, bodying up Bam Adebayo before nailing a fade-away jumper from the baseline while drawing a foul on Bam. "I'm a bad motherf*ucker," Randle could be seen saying after he hit the shot.
However, after four straight points from Tyler Herro, the Knicks were trailing by a point with less than ten seconds on the clock. The Knicks did not have a timeout, and Randle found himself double-teamed and trapped by the sideline. Jimmy Butler knocked the ball away with six seconds left, but Randle regained control before it went out of inbounds. Julius then turned, rose up and launched a Hail Mary over Butler and Herro.
This time, the Basketball Gods answered the Knicks' prayers.
When the ball returned to earth, it swished through the net, giving New York a two-point lead and sending Knicks fans from South Florida to the South Shore of Long Island into hysterics. His Holiness, Mike Breen, fittingly baptized the moment by blessing it with an extremely rare "double bang."
On the game's final possession, Mitchell Robinson stole Miami's inbounds pass, and New York's celebration ensued.
If there was any lingering doubt 24 hours ago, it's now officially official: There is something special going on here, folks.
New York has won eight in a row. Again. It's the first time the Knicks have reeled off two eight-game winning streaks in the same season since 1972-73, which just so happens to be the last time the franchise won a championship.
If the first eight-game run back in December turned the season around and let fans know the team would be fun/competitive, this current streak is serving notice that these Knicks are legit.
During this stretch, New York is averaging a league-leading 126 points per 100 possessions (no other team is north of 123), and their average margin of victory is 14.3 points per game. They've outscored their opponents 988 to 874.
In the past five days alone, the Knicks fans have witnessed the following:
Jayson Tatum rage-quitting in NY's blowout victory over Boston on Monday.
Jalen Brunson scoring 30 points in the first half alone in a brutal beatdown of Brooklyn on Wednesday.
Ridiculously loud "Let's Go Knicks" chants in Miami capped off by a Double Bang Game Winner courtesy of Julius Randle on Friday.
Brunson was just named the East's Player of the Month for February (the first Knicks guard ever to win a Player of the Month award). In five games New York has played since the All-Star break, Randle is averaging 32.2 points and 5.4 made three-pointers, while shooting 54.3% from the floor and 50% from downtown (27-of-54).
Not a bad week, huh?
I mean, is this real life?
But it's not just one week or eight games or one month.
Over the past three months, from December 4th through March 4th, the Knicks are 28-14. Only two teams in the league (the Eastern Conference-leading Bucks and the Western Conference-leading Nuggets) have won more games.
During this three-month stretch, New York ranks second in the NBA in Offensive Rating and in the top ten in DefRtg. They are tied with Denver for the NBA's best Net Rating.
That's 42 games worth of data. That's more than half the season. That ain't a tiny, inconsequential sample size.
The Knicks woke up this morning trailing Cleveland by just one game for the four seed. New York is now closer in the standing to the 3-seed Sixers than the 7-seed Heat.
Again, there is something special going on here, folks.
After his incredible game Friday, Randle was asked what's made this team so special. "We really love each other, man," Randle replied. "We've really spent quality time with each other, getting to know each other. Just caring about each other. And I think it just translates onto the court."
Randle's response could be waved off as hokey cliches, but the proof is in the pudding. For fans that have watched the Knicks on a nightly basis -not only this season but over the past two decades - these past few months have felt undeniably different. The way this 2022-23 team has coalesced around their two leaders, the way they pull for each other, but also aren't afraid to call out one another for blown defensive assignments etc.
In his post-game presser Friday night, speaking about Randle's miraculous game-winner, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said: "If you did that play 100 times ... 99 times out of that, it's going to end up in our favor."
He might be right. But this time, it went in the Knicks' favor.
Further proof that maybe, just maybe, something special is going on with these Knicks?
About Last Night:
🏀 Knicks fans had a queasy feeling in the third quarter when they saw Jalen Brunson limp straight to the locker room after rolling his right ankle. Yet, they were able to breathe a sigh of relief after Brunosn returned to action in the fourth with his ankle re-taped. JB finished with 25 points, two rebounds, eight assists (vs. just two turnovers), two steals, and three 3-pointers in 35 minutes.
🏀 Immanuel Quickley's push toward Sixth Man of the Year honors continues to pick up steam. IQ tallied 21 points (7-of-11 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs), two rebounds, three assists, one steal, and five 3-pointers in just 22 minutes vs. Miami. Today is not a day to quibble about the rotation, but Thibs deciding to play RJ Barrett over Quickley down the stretch was perplexing. Barrett (17/2/2) struggled most of the night on both ends of the floor, while IQ clearly had it going and was locked in.
🏀 Once again, Josh Hart did Josh Hart things, finishing with five points (2-of-3 FGs), seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a swat. He was +16 in his 32 minutes of action. Incredibly, the Knicks are a perfect 8-0 since acquiring Hart from Portland. Hart is now tied with Dave Debusschere for most consecutive wins by a Knicks arriving in New York via a midseason trade.
🏀 Mitchell Robinson took only one shot Friday, converting a dunk attempt. He's now made 18 consecutive field goals, which means he's one FG behind Johnny Newman's franchise record of 19 in a row.
🏀 The Knicks have scored 70+ points in the first half in each of their past two contests. It's the first time the franchise has done this since November of 1988.
🏀 New York is back in action Sunday when they travel to Boston for a rematch with the Celtics.
🏀 Randles' shot was the fifth time Breen has unleashed a DOUBLE BANG. Here are all five calls:
