It Was Exactly the Same, Except the Opposite

I Have Deja Vu as the Knicks Comeback to Beat Wiz in OT

This was the same game that I sat and watched two Fridays ago. I remember it exactly. I was eating cereal and the Knicks were playing the Spurs at home. Last night's game against the Wiz in Washington was that game. Almost step for step. But in reverse. And I was eating cereal. Again. Weird.

In the Knicks/Spurs game the score was close after one quarter. Last night the score was close after one. In both games the home team built a lead that reached 9 points during the third quarter. Yet the road team clawed back to within three as the whistle sounded to start the fourth quarter. Two Fridays ago, the Knicks seemed to ward off the Spurs run to take an 81-72 lead with about seven minutes to play last time. Lat night, the Wizards seemed to ward off the Knicks run to take an 80-71 lead with about five minutes left. However, in each game, the road team (Spurs and Knicks) closed regulation on a blistering run (15-7 and 19-10 respectively) as the home teams (the Knicks and Wizards) couldn't hit a shot or get a stop. Manu Ginobli hit a three to force overtime at the Garden. The score was knotted at 88. Last night, Jamal Crawford hit a free-throw with less than twenty seconds left to force overtime at the Verizon Center. The score was knotted at 90. In both games the road team that had come back to force OT had all the momentum and stormed out the gate as the home team allowed uncontested buckets in the paint. The Spurs scored seven straight to start the overtime period. The Knicks scored eleven straight to start the overtime period. Both teams won.

It was the same game. Just the opposite.

What does this mean? Well, it means that the Knicks can win just as dramatically as they lose. It means that they have been, apparently, capable of winning some of the games they've dropped the last two weeks. It means that a basketball team is only as good as the last quarter it played. And, it means that we've got to be ready for anything the rest of the way.

Or, maybe it means that every regular season NBA game is essentially the same game. And, maybe, this is why most people don't care...