Nate Robinson’s game-winning fadeway rainbow hung in the air so long Saturday the Knicks almost had enough time to contemplate everything that had gone wrong in their young season – the 0-5 start, the injuries and the friction between Larry Brown and Stephon Marbury.
By the time the ball dropped through the hoop and elation exploded in the Garden, it felt as if the Knicks could – the key word here is “could” – be in the midst of a new beginning.
Tonight, they are in Miami against the Shaq-less Heat to begin to find out if they built a foundation on Saturday.
“Definitely, that is a momentum builder,” said Malik Rose, who probably should know, considering he is in his 10th year in the NBA. “It was great to hear the Garden loud in a positive way like that. That will definitely get us going a little bit. Getting a win like that, morale is high and confidence picks up a little bit.”
The Knicks (4-8) are in Miami against the 7-6 Heat, who are leading the Southeast. But the Heat are without the league’s most dominant player, as Shaquille O’Neal is out with a bum ankle.
Miami has a pretty good backup in Alonzo Mourning, and swingman Dwyane Wade is an early season MVP candidate, but still the Knicks have caught a break.
“Alonzo is playing great, but Alonzo backing up Shaq gives you the best of everything,” Brown said. “Now with Alonzo there is a different kind of mindset. It puts a lot more responsibility on Dwyane, who has been phenomenal. He is as good as we have in our league.”
Even after the Knicks’ 105-102 OT thriller over the Sixers Saturday, Brown did not tap the brakes yesterday at practice. He ran the Knicks as hard as if they had lost.
“We definitely built on it at practice,” said Marbury, pointing to his sweat-soaked jersey. “Just look at my shirt. He never takes it easy on us.”
If the Knicks can steal one tonight, it could go a long way in turning their season around because any early road win will counteract the Knicks’ top-heavy schedule.
Of the Knicks’ first 19 games, 13 are on the road, including both West Coast trips. This week’s road trip has the injured Eddy Curry returning to Chicago and – let the hype and the Michigan boos begin – Brown going back to Detroit on Friday.
But with the schedule lightening up in mid-December – the Knicks finish the month with six of nine at the Garden – and with Brown’s teaching potentially connecting, the Knicks may have a run in them.
“It’s a big challenge for us,” Marbury said. “But also for us, I think it is going to help us down the road.”
What they have to bottle was how they played in the third quarter and overtime on Saturday.
“We really have to go out and play like we did in that third quarter from the jump ball and sustain it for 48 minutes,” Rose said.
Then the Knicks could really be on to something.
andrew.marchand@nypost.com