The Knicks had still been in that situation last season, and even early this season.
Whenever Chen Xi went to the bench, the team often started losing ground because of inconsistent play.
Last season, Chen worked himself to the bone leading the starters, battling opponents to a standstill. Then they would lose ground as soon as he sat, leaving him to dig them out of a hole when he returned.
Early this season, Chen and George had used their outstanding all-around play to firmly control most opponents from the outset. But once the transition period began, the team would lose ground again, giving their opponents a chance to climb back into the game...
But tonight was different.
After the starters had played the Spurs more or less evenly for a stretch, the Knicks' transition lineup had actually been the one to help the team stretch its lead.
That made things much easier for Chen Xi, George, and the others.
A strong bench could often ease the burden on the starters, while also taking the team's overall strength another step further.
Just think of the Spurs, the Jazz, and the Warriors of years past, or the current Thunder. All of them had deep benches to fall back on, which was how they had posted such excellent regular-season records.
And now, perhaps the Knicks had a lineup like that too...
That was certainly something worth celebrating.
Halftime slowly ticked away.
Before long, play resumed for the second half.
Both teams brought their starters back out, ready for another round of battle.
The Knicks had originally seemed to have victory all but secured.
But Brunson's explosive surge late in the second quarter had brought a little suspense back into the game.
So the Knicks still had to stay focused and keep playing