Double Knickels

Final Score: Knicks 136 - Wizards 132
Record: 22-10

Heading into a matchup with the shorthanded, five-win Wizards, the Knicks likely didn't anticipate needing a miraculous, heroic effort from their Captain to save them on Saturday night.

Yet, there they were, down five points with less than a minute remaining in regulation. That's when Jalen Brunson closed out the fourth quarter on a personal 5-0 run to send the contest to OT. JB scored nine more points in the overtime session to secure the victory for the visitors.

By the time the final buzzer sounded, Brunson had poured in a season-high 55 points on just 31 FG attempts, to go along with a game-high nine assists.

In New York lore, the "Double Nickel" game (coined by Spike Lee) refers to Michael Jordan (donning #45) hanging 55 points on the Knicks at MSG (shattering his own record for most points by an opposing player at The Garden) just five games into his comeback from minor-league baseball. In that unforgettable contest, Jordan set up Bill Wennington for the game-winning dunk with three seconds left on the clock.

In that matchup, and so many others between MJ and the Knicks, the team with the best player won. In many other of the innumerable losses New York endured in 20+ years after Patrick Ewing left town, the Knicks watched helplessly as another team's superstar took over down the stretch, carrying their club to victory.

However, the Knicks, more often than not, now enter each contest earnestly believing they have the best player on the court, arming them with an unwavering confidence that the superstar with New York across his chest will dominate and dictate terms.