The Donte DiVincenzo Double Bang Game

Fans pour their heart and souls into fandom, hoping against hope that, someday, they'll get a moment like that...

Final Score: Knicks 104 - Sixers 101
Series score: 2-0

Things looked bleak—no doubt about it. 

There were 47 seconds left in regulation, and the Knicks trailed by five, 101-96.

Kyle Lowry was at the free-throw line. He had just made the first and had a chance to stretch the lead to six points. 

Here's what the TV broadcast crew said on NBC Sports Philadelphia as Lowry was getting ready to shoot his second: "The goal is getting home-court advantage by winning one of the two games on the road. Job done. Let's head down to the turnpike… Stay tuned. Postgame live is gonna be fun."

However, Lowry missed the second freebie, leaving the door slightly ajar.

What transpired over the ensuing 30 seconds will be immortalized within the hallowed halls of the World's Most Famous Arena for as long as the building remains standing. And even if MSG should crumble someday, the legend of DiVincenzo's Double Bang will endure as long as descendants of Knicks fans who were alive on April 23rd, 2024, are still roaming the earth. (As Billy Shakespeare proclaimed in Sonnet 18, "So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”)

Let's break down that unimaginably epic closing sequence…

47 seconds: Lowry misses his final free throw. Brunson gets the rebound and pushes the ball up the floor. He drives into the paint but runs into Embiid, so he kicks the ball out to Hart, who immediately passes it back to JB. 

36 seconds: When Brunson gets the ball back from Hart, he attempts to drive the lane on Kyle Lowry, but the 38-year-old bulldog knocks the ball free from JB. Bodies crash into the paint, diving on the floor for the loose ball, but Donte DiVincenzo sprints in from the corner and comes up with it. 

31 seconds: DiVincenzo retreat dribbles to the top of the key before driving into the paint and drawing defenders. He spots Brunson in the left corner and dishes to JB.

28 seconds: Brunson, who had shockingly missed 21 of his first 28 shots in the game, launches a contested three-pointer over Tyrese Maxey's outstretched hand. The ball clangs off the front of the rim and bounces about five feet in the air before dropping through the bucket. The Garden is buzzing. The Knicks have some life.

27 seconds: Lowry grabs the ball after it falls through the hoop and is trying to inbound it to Maxey underneath his basket. The Knicks smartly double Maxey and Lowry is forced to lead his teammate a bit too much. As both the Philly and NY point guards reach for the rock, Brunson tips it in the air near the coffin corner. Maxey grabs the ball but loses his balance as he is coming down and falls to the ground.

23 seconds: Maxey is squirming feverishly on the floor, looking for an open teammate. From his back, he attempts to pass the ball back to Lowry, but Hart steals it. 

20 seconds: The Garden is now at a fever pitch. The place is rocking. Hart immediately pitches to an open DiVincenzo, who misses. However, Isaiah Hartenstein comes sprinting in from the free-throw line and snatches the offensive rebound despite there being four Sixers underneath the rim.

16 seconds: With Philly players clawing at him, iHart falls backward. Just before hitting the floor, he pushes the ball to OG Anunoby. OG quickly kicks the ball to an open DDV, who had relocated after his first miss and was standing alone at the top of the key. 

14 seconds: DiVincenzo catches and shoots. 

13 seconds: "BANG! BANG!" - Mike Breen exclaims. MSG is now in a frenzy. Strangers are hugging in the stands. Former Knicks John Starks, Carmelo Anthony and Latrell Sprewell are going wild on the baseline.

12 seconds: After a timeout, the Sixers, down just one, inbound the ball to Maxey in the backcourt. Thanks to a vicious Embiid screen, Maxey gets going downhill and appears to have a clear lane to the basket for an easy layup. 

9 seconds: However, Hartenstein does an excellent job trailing the play. As Maxey releases the ball, iHart swats it away, smacking it off the backboard with his left hand. OG Anunoby inhales the defensive rebound and gets fouled. The Garden is somehow louder than before. The building is shaking. 

6 seconds: Anunoby calmly steps up to the charity stripe and sinks both free throws. Knicks up three, 104-101.

5 seconds: The Sixers have one last gasp. The Knicks need one last stop. Maxey gets the inbound and rushes up the floor. Hartenstein has to switch out onto Maxey at the top of the key but does a good job preventing him from getting a clean look. Maxey throws the ball to Embiid.

1 second: Embiid launches a 30-footer as time expires. The Garden holds its breath as Embiid's shot soars toward the rim before bouncing harmlessly off the back heel. Knicks win. MSG erupts. 

If that ending felt unprecedented, it's because it was. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Knicks are the fourth team in the past 25 seasons to win a playoff game after trailing by at least five points in the final 30 seconds of regulation but are the first to win in regulation.

And that, folks, is why fans invest time, energy, blood, and tears into a team they love. 

You pour your heart and soul into something, hoping you'll get a moment like that. 

That's why you read boring blogs during the offseason about who your favorite team should add as the 15th man on the end of the bench. It's why you spend money you probably shouldn't on tickets and jerseys that are obscenely expensive. It's why you get aggravated debating family, friends and co-workers about trades and free-agent signings…

Being a Knicks fan this century hasn't been easy. At times, you feel like you're devoted to a lost cause.

So many times over the years, New York has been on the opposite end of those miracle finishes. 

Knicks fans desperately want one of those moments to call their own. They wanted their guy, Mike Breen, screaming "BANG!! BANG!!" for their club. 

Like all fans, they just wanted a reason to scream and jump for joy like a child. 

Well, Monday night, Knicks fans were rewarded with a moment they'll never forget.  

Soak it up!

Then get ready for Game 3. 

Two down. 14 to go. 

Other Takeaways and Knicks Notes: