On Messi and sports and seven-game win streaks…
Yesterday was a wild one in the Beer household. It was my wife's 40th birthday, and we had a surprise party for her here at home, which meant I had to clean the entire house (while keeping two kids busy) before family and friends started showing up before her return from a weekend trip.
Yet, although I had bathrooms to scrub and dishes to do, I couldn't take my eyes off the TV screen during the World Cup Final between Argentina and France. In what turned out to be one of the most dramatic and engrossing sporting events in recent history, Messi finally raised the trophy he'd longed for his entire life. And despite the fact that I now had even less time to tidy up, I took a few minutes to scroll through social media to watch some of the reactions from Agentianian fans worldwide after the match. It was beautiful to see grown men crying tears of joy and hugging each other.
Those moments are why I fell in love with sports. Why I watch and why I write about sports.
Fans in poverty-stricken barrios throughout South America forgot about everything awful in the world for a couple of hours as they watched players wearing their country's colors run around the pitch. And then, after several staggering and stunning plot twists, Argentina's fans finally exhaled. And then began celebrating. Other than the chants of "MESSI! MESSI!" I didn't understand what the people in the streets of Buenos Aires were chanting and screaming, but I fully felt it. No translation is needed to comprehend the universal language of love.
Those folks will never, ever forget that moment. In fact, many of us who watched that captivating game will tell our kid's kids about it someday.
And that's why die-hard fans are die-hard fans. The tantalizing hope that someday we'll experience what those proud Argentinians felt yesterday.
We're inundated with ads, especially this time of year, promoting expensive products that claim they will make us happy. But you can't buy the moment Messi fans experienced yesterday. You have to invest a lifetime - sorrow and heartbreak as merely the downpayment. And even then, the payoff is not promised. That's why those moments are, quite literally, priceless.
I say all that to say this: Hang in there, Knicks fans. If New York, somehow, someway, ever reaches the mountaintop at some point during your time here on earth, imagine all the videos of grown men weeping and New Yorkers embracing one another as the parade of Knicks makes its way down the Canyon of Heroes.
🏀🏀🏀🏀
Due to the party taking place (yes, Alisa was very much surprised!!) yesterday afternoon, I had to watch Sunday's Knicks-Pacers matchup on delay. And when the Knicks fell behind by six points with 1:54 seconds remaining in regulation, following a Buddy Hield trey and an Aaron Nesmith dunk, it looked like New York was sunk, and their six-game winning would soon be history.
And in years past, previous Knicks teams would have folded after getting punched in the gut like that. But not this squad, with this point guard.
Immediately after Nesmith's bucket, Jalen Brunson came down the floor and calmly sank a pull-up three-pointer from 27 feet away. On the following possession, Brunson stole the ball, raced to the other end, and converted a layup to pull New York within one.
After another defensive stop, Julius Randle sunk two huge free-throws to give New York a one-point lead. Randle made four more freebies in the final ten seconds to seal the deal and secure a 109-106 win, New York's seventh straight victory.
In addition to the clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch, Randle also played a prominent role on the other end. Twice in the closing moments, Randle switched onto Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton. And twice, Randle, isolated on an island, prevented the shifty Haliburton from scoring.
In a game in which he tallied 25 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and two 3-pointers, Randle's defense was, improbably, most crucial.
But, as we've said many times already this season, the Knicks lose this game if not for Mr. Brunson.
JB poured in a game-high 30 points vs. Indiana, shooting 11-of-22 from the field, 5-of-5 from the charity stripe and 3-of-3 from downtown.
Six days ago, it seemed inevitable that Brunson would miss a few games, if not a few weeks, after Kings guard Davion Mitchell fell on his foot in NY's victory over Sacramento. The dude's foot was in a boot less than 24 hours before Wednesday's game in Chicago.
Well, not only did Bruson suit in each of New York's three games last week, he played at a ridiculously high level, averaging 27.3 points and 5.3 assists while shooting an uber-efficient 50.9% from the floor, 66.7% from behind the arc and 100% from the stripe.
(During NY's seven-game win streak, JB has converted 31 of his 32 FT attempts and 15 of his 30 3PT attempts.)
Sunday was New York's 30th game this season, and it was already the fifth time that Brunson has scored at least 30 points. That's tied with Stephon Marbury and Walt Frazier for most 30-point games by a Knicks PG over the first 30 games in any season in franchise history.
And, as we discussed last week, it's when Brunson has done his damage that makes his production that much more valuable. He's now up to 60 points in the clutch this season, the third most in the NBA.
The Knicks finally found a point guard.
About Last Night:
🏀 I feel like I haven't praised Mitchell Robinson as much as I should during this improbable win streak, as his disruption contributions on both ends have been incredibly important. Mitch Rob finished with 10 points (4-of-5 FGs), 13 rebounds, two assists, a steal, and four blocked shots in 32 minutes Sunday. Over the Knicks' past ten games dating, he is averaging 11.4 rebounds, with nearly half on the offensive end. Robinson has 56 offensive rebounds during this stretch. No other player in the NBA has more than 42. In addition to patrolling the paint defensively (Robinson is the fourth Knick in franchise history to reach 500 blocks), the extra possessions he garners the Knicks by working the offensive glass have been invaluable.
🏀 RJ Barrett tallied 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting Sunday night and has scored at least 22 points in five straight games. That's the longest such streak of his career. He's also being asked to shoulder extra responsibility since Obi Toppin went down by logging additional minutes with the second unit at power forward. Barrett is averaging 39.5 minutes over his last four contests.
🏀 New York has won sixth straight on the road for the first time since 2012-13 and is now 10-6 on the road this season. The Boston Celtics are the only other team in the NBA more than three games above .500 away from home.
🏀 What did Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle have to say after getting an up-close look a the Knicks last night: "Right now, New York is as good as any team in the NBA."
🏀 The Knicks aren't the only Garden resident riding a seven-game win streak. The Rangers have won seven in a row as well. Per The Broadway Hat, it's the first time ever the Knicks and Rangers both have seven-game winning streaks simultaneously. The two teams had corresponding six-game streaks during their 1993-94 seasons, culminating in trips to the Stanley Cup and the NBA Finals.
🏀 And across the river, the Nets have won six straight. According to ESPN, this is the first time since 1976-77 (the Nets' first season in the NBA) that both the Knicks and Nets have active win streaks of six-plus games at the same time.
🏀 The Knicks begin a four-game homestand Tuesday night against the Warriors, who will be playing without the injured Stephen Curry (sidelined for at least two weeks to a shoulder injury). Shockingly, Golden State is just 3-14 on the road this season.
🏀 New York will then host the Raptors on Wednesday and the Bulls on Friday. Toronto is in a nasty tailspin and riding a season-high five-game losing streak. We also know full well the Bulls are in the doldrums. Chicago gave up 150 points (!) Sunday night in a loss to the Timberwolves. It was Chicago's fourth straight defeat and sixth in eight games. Asked what ails the Bulls after their most recent loss, Goran Dragić replied: "We're not playing for each other." Chicago is going to have to blow up that roster sooner or later.
🏀 Will the Knicks take a 10-game win streak into their Christmas Day matchup with the Sixers? Stay tuned. "Win streaks don't mean anything. This game won't mean anything in our next game," Tom Thibodeau said Sunday night. "You've got to start all over, put the work in preparation and when the ball goes up, be ready to go.
Very touching post. I had the honor to be in Lusail Stadium to witness the Final of the WC and, despite I am a very calm fan who hardly shows his emotions when it comes to sports, I have to admit that this time I jumped from my seat, raise my arms, hold my hair in frustration, hyperventilated. 30 mins after the match ended my hands were still shaking. Seeing crying fans on TV is one thing, but seeing them in person, next to you, is another totally different. I had an Argentinian fan seated next to me. He was so nervous that he spent the whole halftime break seated facing down with his hands on his head. After Mbappe tied the match in the regular time, he left and never came back. I wonder if he is still alive.
This time I will let my emotions to burst by becoming a paid subscriber. In the wake of Messi’s glory and the Knicks winning streak, with you writing about them, it’s the least I can do.
PS: It was I who sent you a video on Twitter with the last penalty kick scored by Argentina, after having said that I couldn’t watch when it was kicked.
Tommy, did you cook too? If so, you’d qualify for an award similar to the Golden Boot of the World Cup! I would be ecstatic if the Knicks won it all. I haven’t seen that since I was 12 and 15 yrs old and I’m turning 65! I was emotional when the Phillies won it again in 2008 & hope the Bills do it soon. Thanks for your writes up, I thoroughly enjoy them!