Knick games can still be fun to watch. It’s all about your mindset. You have to expect them to lose. A fortune cookie told me this once. It said something along the lines of “You’ll never be disappointed in what you don’t expect.” Of course by now you should have all learned to never doubt the wisdom of a Chinese fortune cookie, even if it tends to send out conflicting messages. A cookie once told me not to take chances with my money while giving me my lucky numbers on the back. That one puzzled me for quite some time.

Tonight I should have listened to my cookie.

The Knicks started the game like a ball of fire, consuming and scorching everything in their path. Their passing was superb, fluidity was astounding, defense was suffocating, shooting was marveling. Honestly, I don’t recall the team playing any better in recent times.

The team had perfect balance in scoring. Houston and Sprewell led the way, while the bench all made consistent contributions. Nailon got regular minutes. Anderson was red hot from the field. Eisley seemed to have grown eyes in the back of his head, picking up 6 assists by the second quarter. Even Doleac was joining the fray, a perfect 3-3 from the field at one point and hitting from long range.

The Knicks had 38 points in the first quarter, and had 64 by the half. Everything was going perfectly. Sprewell was percolating in his first game back as a starter. An animated Allan Houston was aggressive, almost slamming home an emphatic dunk during a fast-break. They even featured a return of the famed “Big Backcourt” at one juncture in the second quarter and it worked to perfection, go figure. The lineup allowed Houston to easily overpower the diminutive Atkins. It was almost unfair.

Their defense was unbelievable as well. Detroit struggled mightily from the field, accumulating just 34 points in the first half. Walt Clyde Frazier commented at one point that there were “no uncontested shots for the Pistons.” After the Pistons scored a basket near the end of the half, Clyde had to say with a chuckle, “And the lead is cut to 28.” I was right there with him. I could hardly believe what was unfolding before my eyes. The Knicks were 30 points up on the Pistons by halftime and shooting 66% against one of the best defensive teams in the league. Al Trautwig had to assure fans that just tuned in at halftime that, “Yes, your screen is correct.” I should have known it was too good to be true.

I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. I haven’t exactly been sleeping much recently, so anything’s possible. But then again, I thought it rather strange for me to dream about a great Knick win when there were other more desirable things to dream about. Like say I win the million-dollar lottery, receive a sign from God, or have some Hollywood star throw himself at my feet and beg for my hand in marriage. Nope, I decided that I must be sane and the Knicks are actually up by 30, as bizarre as that scenario would seem. I jotted down in my notebook: “Even the Knicks can’t possibly blow this … or can they? I guess I wouldn’t be shocked. ”

It turns out that I didn’t give the Knicks enough credit. The New York Knickerbockers are perhaps the most talented team at blowing leads in the history of all of sports. The 32-point lead they had at the beginning of the second quarter would be whittled down to a single point in the closing seconds of the game. The real miracle is that they somehow found a way to clung on with their lives and squeezed out the W.

Compared to how they performed in the fourth quarter, the third quarter was fantastic for the Knicks, hands down. One would be shocked if the Pistons didn’t make a run to start the third, and that they did. The Knicks performed like a team who had a 32-point lead, they didn’t play to win, but to not lose.

The Pistons came out attacking to start the third. The tables have been turned and the victims have become the aggressors. Chaney was forced to call time-out twice in the first 4 minutes in an attempt to stem the tide.

The Pistons weren’t about to go out without a fight. Atkins, who was abused with the Knicks’ “Big Backcourt” in the second quarter, came out like a man with something to prove. He was quick as a bat and had no trouble slicing through the Knick defenders. Call it Chucky’s Revenge.

The Knicks on the other hand, were a sluggish and discombobulated team. They shot just 4-13 to start the quarter. All the great teamwork, fluidity, and stifling defense vanished as if by magic. But it wasn’t the third quarter that sank the Knicks. They still clung onto a 22-point advantage to start that disaster-waiting-to-happen better known as the Knicks’ fourth quarter.

Oh, and it was a fourth quarter for the ages. Even with the shaky third quarter, I thought the Knicks were still safe to snatch their second win of the season, and I was almost proven wrong.

Detroit took a lesson from New York and started to exploit their mismatches as well, most notably posting up the 6’10” Cliff Robinson on the 6’5” Sprewell. What did New York do offensively to level the playing field? They featured Michael Doleac. Yes, your screen is correct. The Knicks gave the ball to Doleac for several sequences in a row, resulting in some truly awful basketball.

At the seven-minute mark, it was a 17-point lead. At the six-minute mark, it was a 15-point lead. My overactive brain thought, “Hey, it’s a linear function!” The funny thing is that I was dead on.

It was a 13-point lead with 5 minutes to go. Allan Houston hit a big three to push the lead to 16, but somehow with 3 minutes left in the game, it became a 9-point game. My function was still deadly accurate.

When the lead was cut to 7 with over 2 minutes left, the crowd as well as myself became agitated. The Knicks looked like lost souls out there. On the last sequence, Atkins went in for an uncontested lay-up. Nobody seemed to know what they were supposed be doing.

The ghosts of past-leads-blown came back to haunt the Knicks. They looked nervous, their confidence shaken. Sprewell was fouled and he hit on 1 of 2. ‘Spoon went to the charity stripe next and he choked on both.

Timeout was called with over a minute remaining and the Knicks still possessed a six-point lead. During the time-out, Houston wore a sheepish grin as the team huddled around Chaney. The Knick team captain shook his head like he couldn’t believe what he was witnessing.

Houston took his turn to choke with the rest of the team at the free throw line after the timeout, missing 1 of 2. The lead was down to 4. The Knick players have all just about lost all of their nerves. On the next play, Rip Hamilton skipped down the lane for an uncontested dunk while the Knick defenders just stared.

Clinging onto a 2-point lead, the Knicks nearly had their inbound pass stolen on the next play. At this point, I’m just chuckling in pain. I couldn’t believe what was happening. The dream had turned into a nightmare. The Knicks looked like a team of shaken rookies out on the floor.

Sprewell was fouled, and choked on another free throw. Another uncontested dunk by Hamilton cut the once 32-point lead to just 1 with about 8 seconds remaining. Sprewell was fouled again and this time he finally came through, nailing both free throws to put the Knicks up by 3 with 4.7 seconds remaining. Out of timeouts, a bullet pass from Wallace was deflected by ‘Spoon, allowing the Knicks to escape with the victory.

I don’t even know what to say about these Knicks anymore. I’ll only give Knick fans this advice: Don’t count your chickens, and never doubt the cookie.

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