By MARC BERMAN
Live blogging from the Garden, let me set the surreal scene. The Knicks are the road team tonight, by far. Each Maccabi Tel Aviv basket is greeted by huge roars. Each Knick basket? Indifference.
Isiah Thomas was told that might be the case before the game. “For one night, it’s OK,” he said. It actually worked out great for Isiah. The fans mostly laid off him, since they were more interested in Tel Aviv.
Maccabi, which seems in better condition than the Knicks, raced to a 15-5 lead as the Knicks missed their first eight shots. It’s now 24-17, Maccabi, late first quarter. (The Knicks finally awoke and blew out Tel Aviv in the second half, with Maccabi unable to defend the fastbreak, and falling behind by 34 points late in the fourth quarter.)
There’s four former NBA players on their squad, including Vonteego Cummings and Marcus Fizer, and two who have been drafted. They came in meaning business and Cummings guaranteed a victory a few days ago.
There was even a “Tel Aviv” chant that rocked the Garden early in the game. Many of the fans are clad in yarmulkes, brandishing the star of David Israeli flag. It feels the Garden has been transported to the Holy Land for one night. Weird.