The most ridiculous NBA game this season — and maybe a lot longer than that if we only count the regular season — happened on Sunday. The Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks tipped off at 3 p.m. and didn’t finish for nearly four hours, when the Hawks finally won by a score of 142-139 after four overtimes.
The 7 most ridiculous things about the Hawks-Knicks 4-overtime game
It’s the Game of the Year, no question.
Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
It’s the first four-overtime game since the Pistons and the Bulls played one back in 2015, with only a couple dozen four-overtime games ever being played in league history. The NBA hasn’t seen a five-overtime game since 1989, and the Knicks missed a potential game-tying shot at the end of the fourth overtime to end any chance of that happening.
Naturally, the game led to some absurd moments and statistics. Here are the wildest ones.
1. Paul Millsap played 35 straight minutes
Millsap’s stat line is just dumb: 60 minutes, 37 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists, a steal, a block, and only three turnovers. SIXTY minutes! He’s the 13th player since 1983 to log at least 60 minutes, and according to Hawks PR, his minutes total tied a franchise record.
Wanna watch him get buckets?
He was making plays for all 60 of those minutes, too.
That’s why he’s an All-Star this year.
2. Carmelo Anthony twice forced overtime
Anthony has trade rumors swirling all around him in New York, which inspired him in one way or another to play his best game all season (effort wise, it may have been his best game in several seasons). He finished with 45 points, knocking down 18-of-36 from the field.
Here’s a ridiculously tough drive that tied the game at the end of regulation.
At the end of the first overtime, Anthony hit this shot.
He could have had more, but Anthony unfortunately fouled out in the second overtime.
3. In fact, the Knicks had four different players foul out
Anthony was gone in the second overtime. Kristaps Porzingis didn’t make it out of regulation, recording his sixth foul with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter. Joakim Noah fouled out a minute into the third overtime period. Kyle O’Quinn made it until there was 1:14 left in the final overtime before getting disqualified.
It could have been even worse. Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings both picked up five fouls and navigated the overtime periods without picking up a sixth. If they both had fouled out, it would have meant the Knicks’ entire starting five sitting out.
Still, we weren’t ever really close to the dream scenario of the Knicks playing with less than five players. (Oh come on, you know we would all love to see that.) Three active Knicks never left the bench.
For Atlanta, only Dwight Howard fouled out late in the game. Two players recorded four.
4. The game was this close to five overtimes
Man.
5. Courtney Lee had hit a much more difficult game-tying shot
This was the end of the second overtime, and Lee’s swagger skipping down to the other end is the best celebration all season.
6. The fourth overtime, in general, was amazing
This sequence was great.
7. The Hawks’ Twitter won the night, of course
They’re always great, and this was no exception.
They even jumped on the How Bow Dah meme, which is an incredibly Atlanta thing to do.
I can’t imagine what it feels like to play 60 minutes, but as a viewer, this was great fun. Same time next week?
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