Ironically, it was a New Yorker who brought down the Knicks.
Lance Stephenson, who came out of Lincoln High School just like Stephon Marbury and Marv Albert, had the game of his life Saturday night with 25 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, shooting 9-for-13.
I’m so blessed I want to thanks GOD,my family, my kids, my team, LARRY BIRD, pacers fans and everyone that believed in me. Thanks
— Lance Stephenson (@StephensonLance) May 19, 2013
Why is Bird’s name in ALL CAPS?
An explanation comes from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, who devoted his post-game column to the young knucklehead man from Coney Island.
An excerpt: “When the uncertainty of a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden hung like an anvil over these Pacers, when the Knicks had come marauding back to take a fourth-quarter lead, Stephenson validated his benefactor’s vision with the biggest plays in the biggest minutes of the season. Stephenson changes the dynamic of meeting the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. He changes everything for the Pacers. He’s resilient, resourceful and a strong, strapping 6-foot-5 to take on LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. “His talent is incredible,” David West said. “We see it every day. When Lance plays well, we win. He got us over the hump in this series.” One year ago, Stephenson was considered a clown, a punchline, a downright embarrassment within a mature locker room. In a conference semifinal game against Miami, the television cameras caught Stephenson hurling a choke sign at James. For the rest of the series, Heat players took turns chasing down Stephenson and hitting him in his brief cameos on the floor. “He’s grown up,” West said. Bird used to bring Stephenson into his office, or sit down with him post-practice and talk to him. “Learn everything, learn, learn, learn,’ Larry used to say to me,” Stephenson told Y! Sports. ” ‘Watch the games,’ he would tell me. ‘Don’t just sit and take these games for granted. I listened to him. I watched the other players that were in front of me, and I took what they did and tried to put in my swag.”
There was not much activity on Twitter from the Knicks, although Iman Shumpert did weigh in:
My apologies #knickstape we str8 up failed. That hurt.
— Iman Shumpert (@I_Am_Iman) May 19, 2013