The end of last season was defined by nothing but sheer dominance by the New York Knicks and concluded with the team's historic third championship, the first in 53 years. 

Outstanding performances from Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, just to name a few, led the Knicks to not only a championship over the titanic San Antonio Spurs, but it also powered the Knicks to a NBA playoff-record 13 straight playoff wins. 

It's hard to imagine that time period as anything other than pure dominance from New York, but things didn't always seem that way. In fact, early on in the playoffs, in the first round against the Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks' playoff hopes even seemed in doubt. 

The Knicks fell behind 2-1 to the Hawks as Atlanta star CJ McCollum became the newest nightmare for the Knicks to face, joining players like Trae Young and Tyrese Haliburton who'd spoiled the Knicks in the past.

Time seemed to be running out for the Knicks and they were in danger of becoming first-round exits, but that was exactly when everything changed. 

The Knicks fought back from then on, winning three-straight games to eliminate the Hawks, outscoring Atlanta by a combined 80 points in the final two games of the series. From then on, the Knicks wouldn't lose again until Game 3 of the NBA Finals over a month later. 

Nothing technical seemed to change about the Knicks that made hem so successful, but in a recent interview with GQ Philippines, guard Jordan Clarkson described their deficit against the Hawks as the moment that everything changed.

“When we were down 2–1 to Atlanta, we had to get together and figure out what we wanted to do as a team,” Clarkson said. “We were able to get everybody together as a group and win a bunch of games in a row... A lot of this stuff doesn’t show up on paper or in the stat sheet in terms of how we came together as a group.”

The Knicks, more than most champions of the last few years, seemed to possess the intangible qualities and spirit that become so crucial for a championship run. Their win became indomitable and it translated onto the court and into the scoresheet. 

The connection that the team had was their greatest strength and it was that connection that pulled them out of the depths of mounting despair that the Hawks threatened to put them in.  

That connection was seen again throughout the playoffs, especially in the Knicks' historic Game 4 comeback against the Spurs, but it was born in the adversity that McCollum and the Hawks put them through. 

Hard moments reveal which teams are willing to rise to the occasion and which teams are inclined to sink and fade away. The Knicks proved themselves to be the former kind of team with authority and they may have never reached that extra gear if they weren't tested to the point that required them to, as Clarkson described it, come together as a team.