November 2, 2006 -- MEMPHIS - Their fourth-quarter choke of a 19-point lead was as despicable as anything Larry Brown's team did last season.
But throughout Isiah Thomas' first game as Knick head coach, throughout three overtimes, one Knick always stood tall, the one Knick who was to blame as much as anyone for last season's 23-59 disgrace.
With the Knicks down one, an exhausted Quentin Richardson - capping a 31-point, nine-rebound night - calmly sank two free throws with 11.9 seconds left in the third OT to propel the Knicks to a ghastly 118-117 victory over the Grizzlies at Fedex Forum.
With Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis and Eddy Curry all fouling out, Richardson played 56 minutes, made 10 of 13 shots, all five of his 3-pointers and was 6-of-6 from the foul line.
"At the end of the day, the biggest thing is we won," Richardson said in the weary but jubilant locker room. "As crazy and wacky as it was, you look back at it and say we won."
It was such a perfect night that Richardson even made the final game-winning defensive stop after sinking the free throws. He harassed Mike Miller into a missing a driving runner in the lane with one second left, with gritty David Lee (10 points, 13 boards) pulling down the ferocious rebound to end the madness and avoid an embarrassment.
"I told Isiah in the huddle, there's no way they're getting a tip-in to win this thing," Lee said.
At 1-0, the victory marks the first time the Knicks have been over .500 since Jan. 5, 2005, when they were 16-15 under Lenny Wilkens. The Knicks, who get the Hawks tomorrow in Atlanta, had lost four straight season openers under three different head coaches.
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