New York's best -- and perhaps only -- chance to beat the champs? Get to clutch time

AFTER THE FINAL buzzer sounded and the New York Knicks poured onto the Little Caesars Arena level to observe their series-clinching Game 6 triumph implicit the Detroit Pistons, guardant Mikal Bridges secured his headset for an interrogation with legendary play-by-play announcer Mike Breen.

Bridges had made 1 of the defining plays of the triumph -- a left-handed putback with 35 seconds near to necktie the crippled earlier prima teammate Jalen Brunson deed a stone-cold winning 3-pointer. Bridges, an eighth-year seasoned wing, was inactive amped up erstwhile Breen asked astir New York's penchant for late-game drama.

"We built for this s---, man. That's each it is. We built for it," the usually mild-mannered Bridges said earlier Breen reminded him they were connected unrecorded television.

FCC violations notwithstanding, it was intolerable to reason with Bridges' conclusion. That night, the Knicks rallied from a seven-point shortage with 2 and a fractional minutes remaining -- a melodramatic ending to a bid successful which the last 4 games were each decided by 3 points oregon fewer. It acceptable the signifier for a fascinating league semifinal against the defending champion Boston Celtics, a matchup with each crushed not to diagnostic galore clutch-time theatrics by New York.

During the regular season, the Celtics blitzed the Knicks by 23, 27 and 13 points, respectively, successful the teams' archetypal 3 meetings. And adjacent if the people got choky successful the last minutes, nary squad successful the league had a amended clutch-time triumph percent than the Celtics.

But the seemingly reinvigorated Knicks person shown unthinkable resoluteness successful key, late-game moments, arsenic demonstrated successful their first-round tussle with Detroit and present against Boston. And contempt the Celtics drilling New York by 22 points successful Game 3, the Knicks threw them into fits erstwhile Games 1 and 2 went down to the ligament aft aggregate 20-point leads vanished successful beforehand of the TD Garden crowd.

Led by antiaircraft prima Bridges -- helium came up with the winning halt successful each triumph -- and the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year successful Brunson, New York so looks built to grip the high-pressure, in-the-mud sequences of the playoffs.

"I deliberation it's been a large assistance that we've gone done a batch of fire," backup defender Deuce McBride said. "We locomotion done it together, and we travel retired of it connected the different broadside with a win."

But however did the Knicks cultivate specified a accordant consciousness of calm amid late-game chaos? And, much importantly heading into Monday's Game 4 successful New York (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), volition this fearless Knicks radical get adjacent capable successful this bid for it to substance again?

SOME TEAMS SHY distant from the harsh lights. The Knicks look to bask successful them.

And New York's playoff occurrence successful adjacent games is acold from a coincidence; the squad has a fig of antithetic traits and pieces of connective DNA that marque it a greater menace successful those scenarios.

Clutch time, erstwhile the people is wrong 5 points successful the last 5 minutes oregon successful overtime, often features grinded-out possessions and isolation-heavy sets. Both aspects are analogous to the Knicks' mean benignant of play. New York completed less than 98 possessions per 48 minutes during the regular season, 1 of the league's five-slowest paces. Beyond that, it's earthy for the Knicks to spot Brunson with the shot successful those late-game actions, considering helium handled the shot for an NBA-high 8.6 minutes per game.

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Greeny puts Jalen Brunson's clutch-time greatness successful perspective

Mike Greenberg calls Jalen Brunson the "most clutch player" successful the NBA, questioning however the Mavericks fto him permission for the Knicks.

It's besides noteworthy that, successful the midst of the never-ending statement implicit minutes played by the Knicks' starters, manager Tom Thibodeau's starting 5 has played unneurotic much than immoderate different portion successful the NBA this season. New York has had ample accidental for its radical to jell, learning its responsibilities successful each scenarios -- immense leads, large deficits and, naturally, clutch situations.

It each ties into Thibodeau's standard: Develop "a intelligence subject to get done each the things that whitethorn happen" passim an NBA season. And up and down the Knicks' roster, plentifulness of players acceptable that mold, with a laundry database of intangibles to interaction immoderate crippled hanging successful the balance.

Josh Hart, New York's eventual hustle subordinate astatine conscionable 6-foot-4, is simply a magician of sorts, having recovered an NBA-best 88 escaped balls during the regular season. His instincts connected the violative solid -- wherever defenders often neglect to way him for boxouts aft leaving him monolithic amounts of space arsenic a subpar shooter from heavy -- garner the Knicks invaluable other possessions.

"People ever speech astir violative runs. Well, I deliberation you tin spell connected antiaircraft runs arsenic well. And rebounding runs," Thibodeau said. "Josh is simply a premier example, wherever helium tin get 4 oregon 5 rebounds successful a row, adjacent if helium isn't making shots."

The Knicks person been acold much ascendant rebounding connected discourtesy with Mitchell Robinson backmost successful the lineup. The halfway didn't marque his debut until Feb. 28 due to the fact that of ankle surgery.

New York secures astir 39% of its misses this postseason -- a complaint that would beryllium the NBA's champion successful the regular play and the playoffs. By contrast, the Knicks logged a simply mean 29.9% violative rebound complaint without him.

Then there's Bridges and OG Anunoby, two-way wings who person enactment their stamp connected respective clutch plays this season. Aside from each subordinate hitting a crippled victor earlier successful the run -- Anunoby successful Memphis and Bridges In Portland -- they've been hugely impactful connected defense. Anunoby is among the league leaders successful deflections per contest, portion Bridges has had an NBA-best full of 5 stocks (blocks positive steals) successful the last 10 seconds of one-possession games. Two of those plays sealed Games 1 and 2 for the Knicks successful Boston.

"Once we get it to wrong 10, we ever person the content that we tin win," Thibodeau said aft the Game 2 triumph implicit the Celtics.

But that rallying outcry raises an uncomfortable world for the upset-minded Knicks.

PERHAPS BRUNSON SAID it champion Saturday aft New York suffered its archetypal nonaccomplishment of the series.

"We can't consistently play catch-up against a squad similar this," helium said, acknowledging that the Knicks person little borderline for mistake than the Celtics. "Against immoderate NBA team, really, it's pugnacious for comebacks to happen. They are a large team, the defending champs.

"I conscionable don't deliberation we privation to beryllium successful a 20-point spread each game. It's not going to suit america well."

New York hasn't shown it tin bushed Boston successful thing but a nailbiter. Of the 7 games they've played this season, Boston has held 20-point leads successful six of them. For that reason, the Knicks' quality to triumph a bid they initially led 2-0 mightiness beryllium decided by whether they tin enactment competitory capable to bargain 2 much contests successful clutch time.

That strategy has plentifulness of roadblocks. Aside from the anticipation of Karl-Anthony Towns' left manus being breached during Game 3, there's besides the information that Robinson's outstanding enactment connected the solid is being hindered by Boston's hacking strategy. Robinson has missed 16 of his 23 escaped throws successful the series, including a brace of aerial balls successful Game 3. Those misses person prompted Thibodeau to briskly sub retired his halfway contempt Robinson carrying a team-best plus-29 for the bid -- a whopping 27 points amended than the adjacent closest rotation player.

And the Knicks cognize their chances are adjacent slimmer erstwhile Boston knocks down thing adjacent to 50% of its 3s, the mode it did successful Game 3 aft shooting conscionable 25% crossed the archetypal 2 matchups.

But nary squad has a higher hostile turnover complaint successful the clutch than the Knicks truthful acold this postseason. Pair that with different acold shooting spell from Boston, and it opens the doorway for New York, which has a much balanced changeable illustration portion inactive owning 1 of the league's champion 3-point percentages for the season.

In each the speech of this season's Knicks versus past season's team, possibly the conception of intelligence toughness has been lost. This squad isn't arsenic accordant connected defence oregon adjacent rather arsenic rugged arsenic either of its past 2 iterations, which much resembled the franchise's 1990s counterparts. (Forward Julius Randle, 1 of past season's astir carnal Knicks, is enjoying the champion postseason of his vocation with Minnesota.)

But the team's quality to judge it tin triumph is arguably stronger than before. The late-game assurance of Brunson, who finished the play with an NBA-best 52 clutch baskets contempt missing a period of games, appears to beryllium the biggest reason. It has reached a constituent wherever Brunson's teammates judge that each of his cardinal shots are going to fall.

"High-pressure situations don't faze him. Doesn't substance if he's struggling oregon if he's hooping, you'd ne'er beryllium capable to tell," Bridges said of Brunson the nighttime the southpaw sent the Pistons packing with his series-ending 3. "Once helium got that separation, I knew it was curtains."

New York's content successful Brunson and the surrounding group, each unfazed by late-game drama, has been apparent. The defining question of the series, though, is whether the Knicks person capable near successful the vessel to instrumentality the champs backmost to clutch time.

After all, they consciousness they're built for it.