Knicks beat writer gives the wildest credit for spark that led to Game 5 win

Don't try the smell test on the latest bit of New York Knicks lore in these NBA Playoffs.

Ahead of the crucial Game 5 on Tuesday night against the Indiana Pacers, word began circulating that there was a "motivational fart" in the Knicks locker room by a player who currently remains anonymous. And on Thursday, we got more clarification about what transpired to galvanize the team with the help of flatulence.

Fred Katz of The Athletic, who broke the initial word about the wind-breaking incident for the Knicks, appeared on The Dan Le Batard Show on Thursday. And he broke down the entire series of events that reportedly "cut the tension" for New York and perhaps spurred them on to the blowout win.

"When it happened, it strung along for a lot longer than one might expect for a fart of that volume..." Katz said. "That one player looked around and said with a completely straight face, 'Somethin's up with the pipes in here.'"

Incidentally, it may have actually passed the aforementioned smell test too. Katz assured Le Batard that the fart "was loud and proud" but "purely audio" with no lingering unpleasant odor. However, the one bit of information everyone wants to know remains a mystery: Who was the veteran Knick in question? That revelation has yet to be made.

Knicks veteran's fart may have paved the way to an East Finals berth

New York certainly needed anything to give this team a spark and cut the tension. Fatigue and the team's lack of depth seemed to be weighing on them after Game 4 but a simple act of passing gas may have changed that. Now, with a possible clinching Game 6, the fart could've changed everything.

Whoever passed gas is clearly an actual hero for the Knicks. That player, whether intentionally or inadvertently, de-escalated a situation that could've been worrisome for Tom Thibodeau's group in a crucial playoff matchup.

Of course, fans will have their theories about who the now-legendary Knicks farter was. A great guess might be Josh Hart, whose personality seems tailor-made for pulling off a stunt like this and doing so successfully to get the locker room in the right headspace. But regardless of who it was, it helped propel the team to the Game 5 win, and that's really all that matters.