NEW YORK — I used to believe in karma. I don’t anymore. I never believed in destiny. I do now.These New York Knicks have melted my brain. They’ve made me reconsider my philosophies on life. I’m convinced that this team has been selected by a higher power to be the chosen ones. It’s the only thing that makes sense.In Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night, New York trailed the San Antonio Spurs by 27 points at halftime. They won the game 107-106. That’s never happened before in the history of the sport — and that’s just the latest unfathomable feat that New York has pulled off in these playoffs. This wasn’t supposed to happen, not after the week Knicks owner James Dolan put his team and city through. But, as I said, it’s now hard for me to believe that karma is real.This week, Dolan tried every which way to neutralize all of the superpowers his team collected during its historic run to a 2-0 lead in the finals. It started when Dolan sent an open invitation to his buddy, President Donald Trump, to attend the Knicks’ first finals game inside Madison Square Garden in 27 years. Of course, Trump obliged — even though it was an inconvenience to millions.Going into Monday’s Game 3, the city was thrown off its axis by the president’s presence, as spectators, some of whom paid five and six figures for tickets, were forced to arrive four hours early for the game. They had to get TSA-level screening just to enter the world’s most famous arena. Secret Service agents with big guns were walking 33rd Street and 8th Avenue as if a serial killer was on the loose. It was supposed to be a day of celebration. Instead, it was a day of awkwardness and uneasiness.Even Knicks players and coaches had to alter their routines to appease Trump and, essentially, Dolan. It never felt like a coincidence that, on this night, New York lost its first game in 46 days.Dolan didn’t stop there. In the days after the Game 3 loss, the Knicks owner feuded via multiple news releases with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the New York Police Department over watch parties. All postseason long, Knicks players and coaches have talked about eliminating outside distractions, with some going dark on social media. The Knicks have preached about focusing on one game at a time, going so far as to say “It’s 0-0” even when they led a series 3-0. So, naturally, the owner was the one to bring in the exterior drama.Wait, there’s more.Hours before Wednesday’s Game 4 matchup, Dolan decided to do his second radio interview of the season with WFAN. He predicted his team would win that night and go on to win its first championship in 53 years. He didn’t have to say anything.Dolan’s activity over the last week felt like the prelude to another Knicks disaster, the grandest of them all. The vibes inside the locker room were immaculate. New York appeared unbeatable. And then, as soon as Dolan stepped into the spotlight, his team became mortal. That consuming feeling of karma coming back to bite Dolan — and, in turn, his Knicks — lasted until the final seconds of Game 4, when it felt as though New York really might do the impossible.This is when my conviction about karma was squashed and my belief in destiny began.The Knicks won in yet another resilient manner and on another big stage. Dolan called his shot and was right.Karma can’t be real. It can’t be, because Dolan was asking to be embarrassed. Yet, if it is real, the Knicks — those players and those coaches — are overriding it out of spite, with the backing of an outside force, or both.“The reality is that not just in basketball, not just in sports, but life, too, and I think you all can attest to this, you have to have a little luck,” New York head coach Mike Brown said. “But you also can go make your own luck, too. That’s probably the biggest message. You got to get a little lucky, but let’s do what we do so you can make some of that luck happen.”New York’s resiliency has been a common theme for the last two seasons. However, during these playoffs, when the Knicks weren’t blowing teams to smithereens, they felt like something more than just scrappy players with a never-give-up attitude.No team in NBA Finals history did what the Knicks did in Game 4, coming back from a 22-plus-point halftime deficit to win. Only three teams in NBA history had ever won a game when trailing by at least 22 points with eight minutes left in regulation, as New York did in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks became the fourth. Since 1997, no team in NBA history won three finals games after trailing in the final two minutes of regulation — until New York did it on Wednesday night.This team truly defies the odds. This cast of characters genuinely makes the impossible possible. The players and coaches deserve the utmost credit for having the fortitude to do this with regularity.Without question, there is a greater force backing up these Knicks, but this is also just who they are. It’s a championship combination.“When you do it once, you know you can do it again,” said OG Anunoby, who strengthened his NBA Finals MVP case with a 33-point performance to help New York take a 3-1 series lead back to San Antonio for Game 5. “You never want to be down, but that’s just how it goes. It’s a game of runs. They went on their run early, but we knew we had a run to go on, as well. So, just staying with it, not getting too low in the moment, and keep pushing, having confidence, believing in ourselves and knowing it’s a 48-minute game. Play until the end.”Usually at halftime, Brown and his staff will show players film. That didn’t happen in Game 4. Instead, the coaches let the players sit in the locker room and stew over what had just taken place over the game’s first 24 minutes. They talked amongst themselves. No film would salvage the butt-kicking that San Antonio had given New York in those first two quarters. The Knicks could only look within to get out of that mess.Anunoby and Brunson — who scored 36 points — led the comeback victory with elite shot-making. There were times it felt as though the ghosts of Knicks championships past were sitting on the rim, guiding the ball into the basket for them. It’s felt that way for a lot of these playoffs, though. In 16 games, Anunoby has literally made more 2- and 3-pointers than he’s missed. Brunson has put together some of the greatest clutch performances the playoffs have ever seen. These two have been on a mission to will New York to the sport’s highest peak all postseason.There’s something special about this team that goes beyond the eye-popping numbers. And as much as the players believe in one another, talk about the connectivity and talent, there’s still some stuff that can’t be explained.“I wish I knew,” Miles McBride said when asked, “Why are you guys like this?”“Because then I’d stop it and we’d get good solid wins,” he continued. “At the end of the day, a win is a win. We got to take it.”Whether it happens Saturday in San Antonio, next week back at Madison Square Garden or in Game 7 back in Texas, the Knicks are going to be NBA champions for the first time in 53 years. There have been 37 instances of a team holding a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, and just one has ever blown that cushion. If this postseason has taught us anything, it’s that New York is going to find its way on the winning side of history. Don’t worry. I’m not jinxing them. You can’t jinx what’s predetermined. If Dolan couldn’t mess this up, neither can I. This is in the cards.New York is destiny’s team. Can you believe that? The Knicks are the chosen ones. It’s just a matter of when, not if.
The Knicks, one win from NBA championship, really look like a team of destiny
The Knicks are the chosen ones. It's just a matter of when, not if.















