blake griffin dunk

On a late-night flight from coast to coast, when the Knicks closed their eyes, they probably found Blake Griffin haunting their dreams, dunking sheep at 30,000 feet.

Because of YouTube, “SportsCenter” and the sheer wonder of the spectacle, the final game, Saturday’s, will be remembered for Griffin’s slam over the 7-foot-1 Timofey Mozgov. It might be forgotten that the Knicks won the game, 124-115.

“I will take getting dunked on for the rest of the year, every single game, if we get the win.”

Raymond Felton steadied his game and emerged as a potent scoring threat. “Obviously, the record’s better, so that helps everybody,” D’Antoni said Saturday night. Mostly, the Knicks emerged as a more fluid and cohesive team on offense. After their first 11 games, they ranked 24th in offensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions). The Knicks’ defensive efficiency, however, sank to 25th, from 13th, amid the shootouts.

“Steve can be the end-all guy,” D’Antoni said. The changes helped shake Gallinari out of a prolonged funk. He averaged 25.5 points during the trip, possibly the best four-game stretch of his career. “We need to go back home and win some games at home every once in a while.”

I saw Mateen Cleeves and Eduardo Najera head butt each other at full speed in a tournament game. I saw the Arkansas mascot blow out his knee in a pre-game routine before a Final Four game.

Griffin's head knock was a first.