As Mike Bibby spoke to the media in the Knicks locker room, the game ball was under his left arm.
“They gave it to me,” Bibby said. “So I’ve got to take it.”
Bibby did exactly that in yesterday’s pulsating 89-87 Game 4 win over the Heat. The veteran point guard — the third-string point guard, really — took one of the season’s biggest shots, and in the brightest moment of his Knicks career, he drained it.
Bibby was playing late in the fourth quarter after starter Baron Davis — playing because Jeremy Lin remains out following knee surgery — suffered a dislocated right patella.
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FILLING THE VOID: Mike Bibby elevates for a huge 3-pointer over Dwyane Wade in the final two minutes after entering the game when Baron Davis dislocated his right knee cap in the third quarter.
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Baron Davis lies on the court after dislocating his right kneecap in the third quarter.
With 1:23 left and the game tied at 81, a double-teamed Carmelo Anthony kicked the ball to J.R. Smith behind the 3-point arc. Smith zipped a swing pass to Bibby in the corner, and he proceeded to sink an enormous 3 to give the Knicks the lead.
“When everything else leaves me,” said Bibby, who turns 34 on Sunday, “I’ll be able to shoot still.”
Bibby now becomes the likely starter at point guard for Game 5. Davis went down on a gruesome play with 5:15 to play in the third quarter. His knee buckled on a transition drive, and he was taken away on a stretcher.
“I almost shed a tear on the court to be honest with you,” Amar’e Stoudemire said. “It was something I didn’t want to see again.”
Lin’s status becomes incredibly intriguing now that the series has been extended. Lin, who has been out since March 24 and had surgery April 2, has been scrimmaging, but interim coach Mike Woodson is unsure if Game 5 is feasible.
“I hope so,” Landry Fields said. “Obviously it’s up to the doctors and him.”
Added the Heat’s Chris Bosh, “We’re going to challenge [Lin] because he hasn’t played in a while. It’s tough to come back in the playoffs. If he does come back, we’ll have our gameplan.”
Even if Lin returns, it is unlikely he will be physically able to play major minutes, so the Knicks will need Bibby to produce. The 14-year veteran had a miserable regular season, averaging just 2.6 points and shooting 28.2 percent from the field. But yesterday he exacted revenge on his former Heat teammates.
“He’s not as quick and crafty as he used to be, but he’s capable,” Woodson said. “He didn’t run from the challenge.”
mark.hale@nypost.com
Mike Bibby, Baron Davis, Knicks, Knicks, Jeremy Lin, the Heat, Carmelo Anthony, Mike Woodson, J.R. Smith
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