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Things are getting so bizarre, it's hard to believe this isn't all staged.

They will be telling this tale years from now in these parts, and nobody will quite believe it.

But believe this. The New York Knicks, the eighth-seeded New York Knicks, the Patrick Ewing-less New York Knicks, are going to the Finals for the first time in five years.

This, after the latest evening of high drama at Madison Square Garden, the World's Most Famous Arena.

THE KNICKS COMPLETED THEIR JOURNEY from utter mess to Eastern Conference champions by gutting out a 90-82 victory over the Indiana Pacers -- the overwhelming favorites to win the East a few short months ago -- in Game 6 Friday night.

Of course, they had to overcome yet another harrowing obstacle.

With one captain and low-post scoring threat (Ewing) already reduced to sideline duty, the other captain and low-post scoring threat (Larry Johnson) found himself in the hospital before the night was half over.

LJ, who won Game 3 with a miraculous four-point play and put away Game 5 with two gigantic 3-pointers, went to the floor in agony, his right MCL sprained following a collision with Travis Best.

Chris Childs honors the fallen Knicks' co-captain with a Larry Johnson-like salute in Game 6.(AP)

The Garden, which had been abuzz and almost waiting to explode, suddenly grew silent as Johnson went down in a heap with 6:03 left in the first half, the Knicks leading 28-26.

This would be a traumatic experience for most teams. Particularly with the way LJ had played in this series.

BUT TO THE KNICKS, IT was just another setback in what has been a season of them.

Adversity has come to mean one thing to this team in recent weeks. Time for somebody to step up.

The usual suspects were Marcus Camby -- the unquestioned MVP of this series -- and enigmatic Latrell Sprewell.

Both played a role. Sprewell put the final choke hold -- so to speak -- on the Pacers with a steal and a driving layup that put the Knicks up eight with 39.9 seconds left. And Camby continued to shut down Indiana's inside game with his long arms and young legs.

But the hero, the man who wouldn't let the Knicks lose a game they almost had to win, was Allan Houston.

Sprewell, who finished with 20 points, was off to a dreadful start. The undersized Knicks suddenly seemed out of ways to score. And then Houston started bombing away.

"I didn't think about Latrell (struggling). I didn't even think about when Larry went down," Houston said. "I just wanted to do what I could do the whole game. I just wanted to continue to do what I was capable of doing."

This was a night the soft-spoken shooting guard with the deadly shot seemed to be able to do whatever he wanted.

With the prospect of a Game 7 back in Indiana with no Ewing or Johnson seeming more real by the minute, Houston just refused to miss. It didn't matter who was guarding him, or where he was on the floor. He just kept hitting from outside, inside and at the line.

His timing was perfect. The Pacers were just getting into a rhythm and took a 48-42 lead early in the third. Backed by Houston's dazzling display of offense, the Knicks tied it at 59 by the end of the quarter.

Houston finished with 32 points. He shot 12-of-17 from the field and 8-of-10 from the line. If it's hard to remember him missing a shot in crunch time, it's because he didn't.

AND PERHAPS THERE WAS NO one more deserving to be the hero.

If not for Houston's short floater in the lane in Game 5 at Miami, the Knicks would have been just another first-round casualty. But somehow, his shot bounced in after a few anxious moments. And nothing has been more symbolic of the charmed life the Knicks have been living for weeks now.

For all the surreal moments, the last-second prayers, the miracle wins, the coach -- who earned himself a $3.5 million extension for getting his team to the Finals -- was most proud of his team's sudden ability to do the unheralded things it takes to win.

"We played well defensively tonight, as good as we've been all year," Jeff Van Gundy said. "We got the timely shots from Allan and Chris Childs and Spree. We just got to a point in the year where all we cared about was winning and it's hard to get to but we got it."

Along the way, GM Ernie Grunfeld was fired -- mainly for his uneasy relationship with Van Gundy. And Van Gundy barely avoided getting his pink slip more than once. Then there was Ewing, the gallant warrior, going down for good after Game 2 of this series.

AND THOUGH IT SEEMS LIKE a distant memory now, these Knicks had to win six of their last eight just to make the playoffs.

Now, they are four wins away from the title, though the rested San Antonio Spurs will be heavy favorites.

But there is almost no sense trying to predict the Knicks anymore.

Who could have seen them forcing the veteran Pacers into 27 turnovers? Who could have seen them stifling erstwhile Knick killer Reggie Miller (3-for-18) almost the entire series?

Said Van Gundy: "This was about great, great play by a team that has developed itself into a true team."

So much so that it's hard to believe it's even true.