The End of Knicks’ brutal defeat is just the beginning of this team’s story

The joint really wanted to jump. The ball looked good as it left Jalen Brunson’s finger. It actually looked like it was going in as it settled gently on the edge. And in various districts around Madison Square Garden there was a premature bout of joy. From then on it may have looked like the ball had gone in.

The ball didn’t go in.

“I thought it was in there,” Mikal Bridges said, “and then it wasn’t.”

The ball spun out of bounds, and when that happened, the Knicks suffered their first heartbreaking loss of the season, a 124-123 gut punch to the Bulls that was fascinating as hell because in all 48 minutes we were treated to the very best And The worst this team is capable of, especially in this first quadrant of the season.