Mar 15, 2021; Brooklyn, New York, USA; American director Spike Lee adjusts his face mask during the fourth quarter between the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Knicks might give poor Spike Lee a heart attack this season. It took one game for the famous director to become a meme.
The Knicks were up double-digits in the fourth quarter, but failed to close the deal in regulation.
Long three-pointers from Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics cemented an extra five minutes of regulation at the very least, and stole poor old Spike Lee’s soul.
Lee became a meme on Day 1 of the Knicks season, as he’s already going viral on social media thanks to the Knicks’ inability to close.
The orange glasses. The look of disbelief. The dead eyes. That’s an image that’ll live on this season.
Knicks can’t close: Marcus Smart nails late three to force OT
Smart’s triple was the heartbreaker. Despite a slip in the lead-up, somehow the Celtics managed to get him the ball for the tying shot.
It wouldn’t be the Knicks without it all being so much harder than it ever needed to be.
At least it was wild and entertaining. Evan Fournier and RJ Barrett traded three-pointers with Smart and Tatum in the first overtime to lock the score at 128 apiece. Then both teams went scoreless for the final two and a half minutes of the period.
Mercifully, New York figured out how to close in the second overtime. Fournier knocked down a three and Derrick Rose hit a shot to give the Knicks a 138-134 win, finally sending the Celtics on their way.