“Inhale deep like the words of my breath. I never sleep, ’cause sleep is the cousin of death. I lay puzzled as I backtrack to earlier times. Nothing’s equivalent to the New York state of mind”… All those classic Bulls Knicks games over the years… brings back many good memories. I love when the Bulls play in MSG. Friday night was the next entry into this storied rivalry; it didn’t disappoint.
The Bulls had won 2 in a row, trying to rebound from a disappointing start to the season. The Knicks had just got their 8 game winning streak broken in their last game; still, 8 out of 9 ain’t bad. Part of those 8 wins were back to back wins over the Bulls at the UC, the second of which I was there for; it was embarrassing. I had really hoped the Bulls came out and played well in this one, but… we’re past the part of just “playing well”… they needed to play well, AND win. Not another great comeback that came up short; not another great game that was a close loss. No, the Bulls needed to deliver us an early Christmas present, and get the W in one of the most famous arenas in the world.
It WAS a great game; that’s what I kept saying as we came down the stretch in the 4th. Each team had their runs; this game would come down to the wire. The Bulls really needed to get this one. If their mojo was truly rising, this W had to come the Bulls way. I questioned the late layup from Zach. Sure, 2 minutes, 1 minute left, yes… go to the rim Zach… in fact, all game for the most part. Down 3 points with 10 seconds left, getting additional opportunities from earlier missed shots, the defense kind of scrambling… now is the time to hoist up a trey; NOW Zach decided to drive and lay it in. OK, there are still about 8 seconds left; we still have a chance. The Bulls fouled Brunson, a good free throw shooter on a very good free throw shooting team, one that was struggling on this evening from the charity stripe. We cheered on the couch, hoping to make him miss at least one… he missed both; the Bulls called the timeout, only down 1 with 6 seconds left. We would get the last shot.
Last game in Atlanta I thought it was a good time to transition from DD to Zach for the game winning shot. Nothing against DD, but if Zach wants to be the man, he needs to take and make these big shots. DD took it and air balled it… thankfully Ayo put it back in for that W. Fast forward to MSG on Friday night; I had the same thought. I wondered what was going on inside that huddle… This time, like the time before, DD took the shot. This time, unlike the time before, DD made it, and got fouled. After a quick review of his missed FT, it was game, set, match. Big, big win for our boys.
These back to back wins over Atlanta and New York at the buzzer reminded me of last year’s back to back game winners over Indiana and Washington around New Year’s. Those feelings came rushing back; these are good feelings. Could these Bulls still live up to our preseason expectations? 3 in a row now… more to come? Go Bulls!!!
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