For all of the planning, the hours of film work, the long practice sessions, the fortunes of a team sometimes rests on a ball hanging on a rim for what seems like forever before rolling in or out.
For the Knicks, wherever this unlikely season ends, it feels as if it began on April 9 when the Knicks hosted the Memphis Grizzlies at Madison Square Garden, a moment that came into focus as the Knicks faced the Grizzlies again in a brutal stretch of the season, testing the reality of just how far they have come.
That night in April the Knicks trailed by as many as 15, still down by 13 midway through the fourth quarter, before fighting back to tie the score.