SPANISH HARLEM – The New York Knicks have accomplished the most amazing comeback in my lifetime. Down 22 points with just under 8 minutes left, Jalen Brunson wore his Superman cape to help the Knicks to a 115-104 overtime win. While Brunson will be person everybody talks about, he did have some help along the way. And what would a Superhero without his trusted allies?! Let’s take a look at two players that helped fuel this marvelous comeback win.
Landry Shamet
At time that Shamet came into the game, I think the Knicks were already down 19 and the lead would swell to 22 before the tides changed. What impressed me first was his defense on Donovan Mitchell, who was basically the Cavs best player throughout the game (and rightfully so). It seems that whatever Micthell wanted to do on the court, he could… that is until Shamet made everything just a little more difficult for him.
That’s all the Knicks needed to help them mount their comeback, add in 3 huge threes in the 4th quarter with his last one coming at about the one-minute mark to tie the game. Without him the Knicks don’t tie this game, and his great play continued in overtime adding another 3 to increase the lead for New York. Kudos to that man for being ready to play and doing everything he could to win that basketball game.
Mikal Bridges
Bridges is probably the player that has taken the most beatings from Knicks fans for the last two years and yet, there he was hitting two big threes in the final minutes when the team desperately needed someone to score. Two of those threes came with less than 3 seconds on the shot clock and weren’t easy wide-open shots. Both times he had a person within a distance to block his shot, but he got them off quick enough to avoid a violation.
When you take into account his ability to switch between Mitchell and James Harden, he was tremendous for the Knicks down the stretch. His big steal in overtime with the Cavs making their comeback was the nail in the coffin. Mikal has been sensational in this playoff win streak and should be applauded by all Knicks everywhere.
Now it’s off to game 2 tonight, LFG Knicks!
That’s it for now, please come back tomorrow for more great revelations from Jackson Sternberg.
