When does a last-second L not hurt? When there’s bigger fish to fry.

The New York Knicks lost a meaningfully meaningless game last night, 116-113 to the Phoenix Suns. We’re not supposed to think any game is meaningless – hello, In-Season Tournament! (Gregg Popovich would prefer fans not think at all, and simply clap when they’re happy and stare blankly ahead when they’re not) But the truth is Tuesday’s match with the 5-10 Charlotte Hornets is an astronomically bigger deal than yesterday’s tilt with the 11-6 Suns. 

Not because of who didn’t play, though the Suns were shorthanded minus the smoldering Kevin Durant, smiley Bradley Beal and smegmatic Grayson Allen. No doubting the talent in that trio, especially for a Phoenix team whose Achilles heel may be their depth, or lack thereof. But every understudy or opening act is a star in waiting. Chimezie Metu, Nassir Little, Jordan Goodwin and Drew Eubanks are nobody’s idea of Mount Rushmore, but they helped the Suns to a 34-22 lead after the opening quarter, one the Knicks eroded but ultimately couldn’t erase.  

Devin Booker won it with a three with just under two seconds left. The Knicks aren’t the first team Booker’s put to the sword at the final stroke; they won’t be the last. New York nearly forced overtime on Jalen Brunson’s long 3-point attempt as time expired, but while the shot went in, it then went out. Maybe next time in that spot, a fan will be noble enough to tell Brunson anything but a make “is embarrassing.”

Ironically, this game being mostly meaningless is a credit to where the Knicks now are. Last season was only the second time in 23 years the Knicks won a playoff series; just like the only other time (2013), they then took their second-round foe to six games. This season is seemingly shaping up to be their third competitive campaign outta four. We’re past the point where a win in late November is a big deal. These Knicks are more about winning in May, hopefully June. And, for the first time, December.

Losing last night could impact the Knicks come playoff time, in theory. Maybe they finish a game behind someone they would have had the tiebreaker over. What we do know, concretely: if they beat the Hornets tomorrow, they’ll finish second in their In-Season Tournament group. That means they can advance to the quarterfinals next week in Las Vegas, so long as their point differential (+16) tops Cleveland and Boston’s, the other second-place teams in the Eastern groups. The Cavaliers, currently +6, host the Atlanta Hawks in their final group game, while the Celtics, +0, welcome the lowly Chicago Bulls.

That’s right: after decades of “Charlotte” meaning “nobodies,” they’re the current obstacle to the Knicks earning a chance at their first hardware since 1973. Don’t laugh: while most major men’s sports in this country treat titles the way too many treat sex, i.e. “There’s only one winner,” there are advantages to reaching certain destinations during the journey. We already saw one earlier this year, when the New York Liberty won the WNBA’s Commissioner’s Cup, their first-ever trophy, over Las Vegas, after which they got within a buzzer-beater of a winner-take-all Finals finale, also against LV. You can’t build a winning tradition without winning. 

Manchester City are kings of the earth when it comes to soccer, but back when their run began they, like the Knicks, hadn’t won a trophy since the 1970s. In 2011, after 35 years with none, they won the Premier League’s FA Cup, the in-season tournament the NBA is basing theirs after. Success begets success: City have won trophies in nine of 13 years since, becoming the best team in the world. If the Knicks get to Vegas, they’ll be three wins from a championship for the first time since 1999.

So maybe don’t dwell too much on last night’s lowercase L. Booker was the best player on the floor. The Suns carry themselves as a title-or-bust outfit; on teams like that, even role players level up. The Knicks nearly pulled off another double-digit second-half comeback after doing so Friday versus Miami. It’s hard to imagine too many teams just absolutely crushing them on the glass or getting 43 points from their bench the way the Phoenix did. Hopefully Julius Randle has fewer halves like he did in the first and more quarters like he did in the third. Hopefully RJ Barrett looks more like he has the rest of this season and less like he did last night. Hopefully two weeks from now this loss is long-forgotten. The Knicks could end up facing these same Suns with something at stake. It all goes down tomorrow against Charlotte. Who woulda thunk it?