Spike the Director's Protective Measures Were No Match for Steve Cohen's Aura
The Knicks' unofficial mascot arrived at MSG loaded with superstitious countermeasures. The Knicks blew a 12-point lead anyway. Cohen was courtside when the Knicks couldn't need him less.
NEW YORK, NY — The New York Knicks blew a 12-point lead to the Atlanta Hawks Monday night, 107-106. Steve Cohen was courtside.
Cohen, owner of the New York Mets, was in attendance for reasons his office has not explained.
Spike Lee — unofficial mascot of the New York Knicks, a designation this publication (among others) assigned and fully stands behind — knew Cohen would be there. He prepared.
Sources confirmed Lee arrived at the Garden wearing a Patrick Ewing rookie card on a lanyard, carrying a hand-sewn sachet of soil sourced from the corner of 33rd and 7th at the precise spot where John Starks once parallel-parked, and with a blazer blessed that morning by a man described only as “a guy who knows.” He had also called two numerologists.
It was not enough.
In a statement released eleven minutes after the final buzzer, Lee wrote: “Steve Cohen has a Mets team that has lost eleven consecutive games. He has a mascot currently undergoing a head transplant at Mount Sinai. And he came to my building. To my game. That is not appropriate. Do the Right Thing and go home, Steve.”
The Mets declined to comment. Mr. Met is still unavailable for comment.
Correction: A previous version of this article placed the game on Tuesday night and reported the final score as 108-103. The game was Monday, April 20, and the Hawks won 107-106. Both errors were caught by fact-checkers and not, notably, by either of the two numerologists consulted during the reporting of this story.
