No Sleep Till Brooklyn

Final Score: Knicks 108 - Nets 103
Record: 27-17

With under 1:30 left in the fourth quarter and the game tied at 101, Nic Claxton blocked a Jalen Brunson lay-up attempt, springing a Brooklyn fastbreak. 

After grabbing the loose ball, Dennis Smith flies into the open court. Josh Hart is the only Knick between Smith and the basket and forces Smith left before swatting his shot off the backboard. Precious Achiuwa and OG Anunoby, who both began springing back on defense the moment Brooklyn gained possession, tip the ball in the air before Cam Johnson gains control underneath the hoop and goes up for a shot. Somehow, despite standing flat-footed and attempting to regain his balance, Anunoby blocks Johnson's attempt. Hart then tiptoes along the baseline (after it appears the ball landed out of bounds) and passes ahead to Julius Randle, who starts a fast break the other way. 

Randle looks up the floor and passes to Brunson, who is already in the paint on the other end. After Brunson catches it, he immediately dishes the ball back to Randle, who has a head of steam and finishes the play with a monstrous dunk. 

The bucket put the Knicks up by two, and they would not relinquish the lead.

Brunson called that sequence "the play of the year so far."

In many ways, that one play epitomizes what has made the Knicks so successful and so much fun to watch in 2024, as they've posted a 10-2 record since the arrival of Anunoby. Defense and effort and grit and energy and unselfishness. It was all on display.