It was not a game, but a crusade. From the moment Willis Reed came through a cordon of police to join the warmup, to the moment he was introduced to the standing, cheering multitude, this was a vendetta of emotion.
The Knicks had come so far, they wanted so much and it was nearly unfair the Lakers had to be there at all last night. A team that built tradition on losing causes was a victim of the Knicks before it took the court.
The score, 113-99, was totally irrelevant. What the Knicks did was terrible to behold, yet marvelous.