This wasn’t about the fateful final 63 seconds.
Or Jalen Brunson’s airball or his turnover on the game’s final possession.
The Knicks lost Game 3 in the first 20 minutes. And now, after falling to the Hawks, 109-108, in Atlanta on Thursday night, they face a must-win Game 4 on Saturday — all because the Knicks didn’t show up until they had dug themselves an 18-point hole.
There was no excuse for how they started this game, especially after they blew a 12-point, fourth-quarter lead in Game 2 to give away home-court advantage in this best-of-seven, opening-round playoff series.