The New York Knicks are moving on to the second round after they survived the Detroit Pistons, 116-113, in Game 6 on the strength of a Jalen Brunson game-winning 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds to play.
After leading by as many as 15, and 12 in the fourth quarter, the Knicks saw themselves on the wrong side of a 19-point swing to go down seven with 2:35 to play. But Brunson just wouldn’t let his team go down, scoring seven of New York’s final 11 points to close the series.
That is just a nasty slam-on-the-brakes move to absolutely lose Ausar Thompson, an electric defender who gave Brunson fits in Game 5 and had snuffed out a Brunson isolation with a clean strip a minute earlier. That’s how you win Clutch Player of the Year, as Brunson just did.
There are certain players built for the pressure. Brunson is one of them.
Jay Williams wasn’t the only celebrity to react to Brunson’s dagger on social media. Magic Johnson, who’s been around for his fair share of amazing basketball, called it “one of the best crossover dribbles I’ve ever seen.”
And of course the New York peeps pulled out their social megaphones. Actor and regular court-side Knicks fanatic Ben Stiller:
Former Yankees ace and MLB Hall of Famer C.C. Sabathia:
New York Rangers legendary goalie Henrik Lundqvist:
The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart, another rabid Knicks fan:
It didn’t take long for Brunson’s teammate and podcast partner Josh Hart to hit the locker room and pick up his phone:
The great Allan Houston and the even greater Mike Breen, with one of his rare double bangs:
Check out the scene outside Madison Square Garden:
Again, Brunson is just one of those guys that you feel great about coming through in these situations. That doesn’t mean he always does; nobody hits game-winners at a particularly high rate. But it’s more than just closing shots. It’s closing games.
Brunson carried New York all night in Game 6 with 40 points and seven assists to eliminate Detroit. Last season it was the same thing, when he went for 41 points and 12 assists to eliminate the 76ers.
Without Brunson, the Knicks would certainly be facing a Game 7 against this upset-minded Detroit team, if they wouldn’t have already been eliminated. He went for 30-plus in five of the six games and averaged over 31 points and eight assists for the series.
There was absolutely no chance Brunson was going to repeat his Game 5 performance when he managed just 16 points on 16 shots. This is one of the best and proudest basketball players in the world, and he gave Knicks fans a moment for the ages on Thursday.
