Clutch Brunson Basket Saves Knicks
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Samori Benjamin
Bridges Makes Only Block Count
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
When Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder hit a three from the left wing with 11.5 seconds remaining in the game it put the Nets up 122-121 and gave them their first lead since the first quarter. On the ensuing inbounds after a timeout, the Knicks gave the ball to their Mr. Everything, Jalen Brunson, and he hit a three to give the Knicks the lead again, and a two-point advantage with six on the clock. That was enough time for Brooklyn guard Dennis Schroder to receive the inbounds pass from under the basket and dribble all the way to the other end where he rose to the basket for a shot at the rim where he was met by former Nets teammate Mikal Bridges. Bridges turned Schroder away with his first block of the game to secure the Knicks 124-121 win. “It was huge,” third-year Knick Josh Hart said after the game about the Bridges block to end the game. “He gave us good energy offensively and defensively. People are trying to put pressure on him to be perfect and the beauty of Mikal is he is going to go out there and find a way to impact the game even if he is not making shots.” Bridges, in his first year as a Knick finished with 25 points, his most since joining the team. The Knicks traded four first-round picks to Brooklyn to get him this past offseason so there are expectations for him to deliver.
The Knicks avoided disaster as they led by as many as 21 points with less than five minutes to go in the third quarter and they led by 19 early in the fourth quarter. After a difficult loss at the end of their previous game on Wednesday against Chicago, where Brunson had the final and potential game-winning shot rim in and out, this was a huge win for the Knicks. “We should have won last game, but we moved on from it, we came in we built a lead, we gave up a lead, but we didn’t give up, we continued to fight.” said Hart.
A short distance away from Hart’s locker the captain spoke about his thinking behind the game-winning shot. “I think I had enough space, it’s a shot I work on,” said Brunson wearing his postgame with the “skully” that we are accustomed to seeing him wear after games and before he enters from the New York weather, down right above his eyebrows. “You’re looking at the time, obviously you want to give us a chance in case you miss it, we’re down one.”
The win was also the second for the Knicks in the In-Season NBA Cup tournament, so they are now 2-0 in group play with two games remaining. One against Orlando and the other against Charlotte. Brooklyn is 0-1 in group play. Brunson had a team-high 37 points for the Knicks and Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas led all scorers with 43 points.
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