Hawks 99, Knicks 96: Scenes from a bittersweet symphony of tankage

I don’t even know where to begin, ladies and gentlemen.

Deep into the fourth quarter, Hawks guard Kent Bazemore was NOT touched by Tim Hardaway, though he was clearly beyond the three-point line when he was not touched. The refs called a foul, then allowed Bazemore to shoot TWO free-throws. The Knicks rebounded the second free throw and Hardaway scored and and-1 bucket, giving the Knicks a five-point lead with a chance to stretch it to six. Then the refs got together, decided the previous possession DIDN’T COUNT, took Hardaway’s points off the board, and gave Bazemore his third free throw.

Anyhoo, that was bullshit, but the Knicks still were in control of the game. Then they followed the Kurt Rambis defensive doctrine: NEVER guard the three-point line. So the Hawks hit back-to-back treys, including this beauty.

Kurt Rambis probably wept with join from the bench when he saw this shit. Magnificent.

Oh, and Tim Hardaway made another two egregious blunders—throwing up a wild brick on an offensive rebound in the last minute, and stepping out of bounds with the ball in the final second.

Knicks. Recap to come.