Tony Parker had just delivered another pinpoint pass to Tiago Splitter who had somehow managed to score the Spurs last 12 points (and also had outscored the Knicks 12-5 in the 4th quarter up until that point) and while finishing the dunk, Tyson Chandler fouled Splitter hard.  Some of it was frustration and some of it was the inability of the Knicks to control Tony Parker’s ability to find the open man on a consistent basis.  But there was an extra muscle added to that foul.

The lead ballooned to 11 and it seemed as though the Spurs were on the kind of run that good teams manage to negotiate in critical moments of games.

And yet there was 7:14 left in the game.  A timeout was called.  Splitter hit the free throw and the Knicks came right back up without missing a beat and Raymond Felton decided he wasn’t going to be outdone by his point guard counterpart.  He drove to the hoop and had an opportunity to get the and one but failed.  But the foul by Parker was a loud snap on the wrist of Felton and it seemed as though both teams were beginning to get chippy.

Much of the premise of last night’s game was that this was going to be the Knicks first real test.  They had written off the Miami win as a product of an emotionally charged Knick team playing for a noble purpose that Miami almost felt guilty about ruining.  Translated: the Miami Heat gave up on that game the moment they stepped foot in to superstorm Sandy ravaged New York and the moment Wade made his now infamous comments about the game which made him give up his salary to benefit relief efforts. The Sixers were playing without Andrew Bynum and were a mess offensively without their anchor in the middle.  And of course the Magic were a lottery team.  All valid arguments.  Yet, how could you possibly do it this time to a Spurs team who picked up right where they left off from last year’s 50 win regular season.

So there were the Knicks 7 minutes away from validating everyone’s eyebrow raising over the Knicks 5-0 start.  They were going to lose to an actual contender that everyone had penciled in for, at the very least, the Western Conference semis.  The Knicks for the second straight game turned it on in the fourth quarter and began to pull away thanks to a strong defensive effort.  But it came from two places that one couldn’t have possibly seen coming.

Stephen Jackson said of Carmelo Anthony following the game: “I think last year Melo would have forced a lot of shots,” Jackson said. “This year he’s trusting his teammates and it’s shown out there, especially tonight. It’s amazing how they went from two guys shooting all the balls to a team that everybody has confidence in everybody else.’’

There he was with the Knicks down 6, getting an entry pass with a clear look at the basket and passing off to Tyson Chandler who had a clear path for a dunk and an and one.  If that weren’t enough for you Carmelo doubters there was this: with the Knicks down by a single point, following a steal by Kidd on a bad pass from Manu Ginobli, Kidd fed Melo for what usually would’ve been one of Melo’s patented stop and pop three point shots.  Instead he faked, took a quick step towards the rim, saw the defense collapsing on him and passed to Felton who was cutting towards the basket from the opposite side.  It was critical from this sense: Kidd from the moment he began pushing saw Melo working his way up the court in transition and anyone in Kidd’s position would’ve expected Melo to shoot the ball or take the ball to the hole there and initiate contact and, best case scenario, get an and one.  Its why Melo is paid the big bucks: he’s the best player on the Knicks.  Their best offensive player.

But last night was not Melo’s night offensively.  The defensive pressuring of Stephen Jackson, Kawhi Leonard, and the doubling of Melo when others would switch defensively had done a number on Melo.  So there was Melo feeding the guy who had the hot hand: Ray Felton on what would’ve been an easy lay up had Tim Duncan’s hall of fame shadow not shown up to dismiss that thought from Felton’s brain.  Felton immediately turned his body and saw JR Smith waiting for the ball and for the moment.  Three point.  Gun shots.

But that was NOT the end.  There’s something equally impressive Melo managed to do on the following possession by the Spurs.  With the Spurs trying to recover from a backbreaking JR Smith 3 to give the Knicks their first lead of the quarter, the Spurs kept going east and west, and when the ball finally landed in Kawhi Leonard’s arms, Melo SOMEHOW angled his body away from Kawhi Leonard who was scared of taking the corner three thanks to Melo’s crazy waving arms and couldn’t get the shot off in time.  24 second violation.  Imagine that.  Carmelo going from making the unselfish offensive move to the rotating defense that caused a shot clock violation.  Was there a better indication of whether Carmelo “gets it”?

It was always the big question about Carmelo: did he understand what it took to play on both ends?  Everyone knew what he was offensively: a me first guy who put the team second.  Who could play that kind of way because his offense was just so good sometimes that even in the face of double teams he could manage to get off shots and make them that made you shake your head.  Those makes, reinforced in Carmelo’s mind perhaps that maybe it was ok to hoist those shots.  Even when people (stats included) told Melo that playing the 4 would make him unstoppable, early on he resisted.

But he’s been everything the Knicks had ever hoped for him to be.  A superstar understanding what it takes to win.  That in the course of 82 games, not every shot will fall, but when there’s a match up that is working like Raymond Felton against Tony Parker, that you go to it.  That when there’s an open man you trust your teammates to make the shot.  Those realizations are huge and if Carmelo gets it and I mean truly gets it, the sky is truly the limit.  He’s trying on the defensive end like I had seen from him in spots last season.  He’s buying in to Coach Woodson’s system.

Then there’s the ageless wonder Jason Kidd.  Kidd had said prior to the season that he didn’t care to play major minutes.  He came to mentor Jeremy Lin.  But most important, in those critical final four to five minutes of a tight ball game, he wanted in.  He wanted the opportunity to help the Knicks win.  Well, two out of three aint bad.  He once again proved his worth by playing stellar defense and doing all the little things during the course of the game and when Tony Parker’s slashing and Tiago Splitter’s offense was destroying everything in its path, it was Kidd who like in the Orlando game had managed to calm the Knicks down as things seemed to be going against them, calmly hit two threes back to back to cut a 12 point lead to 6 and inject life to a hapless Knicks squad.

Huge swings of momentum are gifts given to teams by fortune, but sometimes players can force nature’s hand and cause it all by themselves.  And when the Knicks needed to hit a back breaking three to extend the 2 point lead, there was Jason Kidd with a hand in his face, off balance hitting his final three of the night to put the Knicks up 5.  There are players who have a sense of timing about these things and when you have a veteran laden team you’re bound to have a couple who get it.  This is why Kidd was brought to this team.  These are the moments he desired to be a part of.  These are the situations he was born to lead and direct.  There he was playing maestro and the lead role.

There’s much to like about this Knicks team.  And I haven’t even got to the point guard situation yet which is light years ahead of what last year’s team had.  But if you’re not a fan of Melo “getting it” or of J.R. Smith changing his outlook on the sixth man role or Jason Kidd, Rasheed Wallace, Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas’ combined experience being a good omen for this squad then you’re not a Knicks fan. But that’s alright.  But as a basketball team when you see a team playing together.  Understanding roles.  Having each other’s back.  Its just fun to watch.

This is great basketball.  Who would’ve thunk that meant New York Knick basketball.

NOTES:

– Tim Duncan said it all when he glanced at Carmelo Anthony’s point total and said ”  “You assume we win that game.”  So would everyone else Timmy.  The Big Fundamental joined the rest of the Spurs organization in singing the Knicks praises after a gutty comeback win by the Knicks in which the Knicks showed mental toughness and the ability to pull a comeback with their best star only scoring 9 points.  It indeed is a new age for the Knicks who are probably as shocked as their opponents are at how great Anthony is playing on both ends.  He’s the epitome of a leader and in my opinion is doing what he needs to do to shed all the previous labels that stuck through his career.  It will be interesting to see how long this new attitude by Melo can last but having this many veterans on the team, especially guys with rings can ONLY help.  Right?

– Again, all of these are small sample sizes but right now Raymond Felton is playing the kind of basketball that begs the question: Does the New York Knick uniform give him super powers?  Many had attributed his success in his first stint with the Knicks to playing in D’Antoni’s uptempo system.  Of course many had also made the Pudge Felton jokes too.  But perhaps the Woodson system that asks him to slow it down here and there and penetrate through screens and get assists through pick and rolls (which he’s building quite the rapport with Tyson Chandler by the way), is the best system he’s been a part of.  Lin was brought to the Rockets where he would be head of an offense that he was probably as aptly suited for as the D’Antoni system.  But Lin is still having his turnover issues whereas the Knicks are NOT.

– One of the biggest surprises of the early season has been the almost allergic reaction to turnovers that the Knicks have.   Zack Lowe of Grantland says that not only would it be historic, its a clip thats unsustainable.  That tweet, got him in so much hot water from Knick fans who attacked him as a hater.  BUT, the fact is, to expect the Knicks will go an entire season averaging 10 turnovers a game, is not realistic and fans can expect that number to go up as the season progresses.  But that’s not the only thing that the Knicks are doing that bear watching and Knick fans can expect to regress:  JR Smith is currently hitting 70% of his 3 point field goals.  The Knicks are also beating teams by over 13 points.  But then there’s the poor shooting of Steve Novak, the inclusion of Amar’e Stoudemire which at the very least will help the offense (maybe?) and the return of Iman Shumpert that should help the team defensively so there are some things that bear watching.

– The game tonight against the Grizzlies is probably going to be closely watched by those in NBA circles to see the Knicks ability to respond after an emotional win against the Spurs.  Should they win tonight, the Knicks would almost definitely have to be taken seriously by the talking heads of the NBA who marginally praised them following the win against the Spurs.  The Grizz feature Zack Randolph and Marc Gasol- the best front court they have faced thus far.  It will be interesting to see toned down Carmelo giving up 30 pounds to Z-Bo in the paint.  That will be very loud match up.

Other than Marc Gasol, I think the player I’m most impressed with on that roster has to be Mike Conley who, at one time, had one of the worst contracts when he first signed it, but over time has justified the investment by getting better in increments.  That’s all you can ask for from your team’s point guard.  It will be interesting to see the Mike Conley and Ray Felton match up tonight.