“There’s No ‘If’”: Scenes From a Knicks Playoff Game at Madison Square Garden

For some, the urge to keep going comes from a combination of this year’s team’s actual capability to meet fans’ tempered expectations, paired with needing to witness any sort of progress in person.

“I haven’t been to a Knick playoff game in almost 20 years,” said Debra, a middle-aged woman from Queens who laughed maniacally about converting her partner from Bulls to Knicks fandom. “I think they look pretty good. I mean, ya know—they have a chance to advance. I don’t know about the Eastern Conference Finals, but they have a chance.”

With the Knickerbockers now holding the upper hand (and a chance to close out the series amid deafening MSG roars in Game 6, if they don’t just finish things up in Cleveland beforehand), that calendar may need to remain open for at least another week or two. Barrett, who poured in 19 points on a potently efficient 8-of-12 shooting and seemed to thrive off the home crowd, explained the Bing Bong effect in his postgame press conference.

“It’s the Garden, man,” he said. “What can I say? It’s loud. It’s fun to play in. As a basketball player you grow up thinking about moments like these.”

The fans had been thinking about moments like this, too. I made the mistake of asking one guy pregame, who was wearing dark shades that definitely weren’t because the evening sun was too bright, what would happen if the Knicks lost. “Nah, there’s no ‘if,’” he replied. “I don’t like the word ‘if’.” Another dude, who had sort of a meathead Beastie Boys thing going on, was prepared to go to outlandish lengths to keep the Knicks from falling behind in the series. “That’s not happening,” he said. “I’ll get out there on the court if I have to.”

Check out more photos from the night here: