With just 4.3 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a tie game, Jalen Brunson buried an above-the-break 3-pointer, his 40th points of the game, to lift the Knicks to a 116-113 victory, eliminating the Detroit Pistons in the process.
It was a masterful performance from Brunson, who didn't need to go and get his cape from the locker room, but instead started the game wearing it.
Brunson began the game by dropping 15 points in the first quarter. His dominance continued throughout, as he was the best player on the floor all game. It was clear he was not willing to leave anything up to chance, taking 33 shots from the field, the most he attempted in the series, shooting 45 percent from the field.
That is not to say he wasn't getting others involved as well, though. Brunson dished out seven assists while only turning over the ball twice. For a team that seems to lack chemistry at times, Brunson had several superstar-level passes, including this beautiful no-look pass on a savvy cut from Mikal Bridges.
The Clutch Player of the Year is clutch
While Brunson's effort was awe-inspiring, it really should not come as a surprise. The fourth quarter wasn't pretty, with Brunson only shooting 29 percent from the field, and the Knicks as a team only shooting 33 percent. But the Clutch Player of the year delivered as only he could when the stakes got the highest.
Maybe stop chanting at Brunson if you want to win
Fans chanted "Flopper!" repeatedly at Brunson after J.B. Bickerstaff won a challenge to reverse a foul call. Over the course of the series, Brunson's ability to sell calls has been put under a microscope.
As head coach Tom Thibodeau made clear earlier this season, Brunson lives for moments like that. To him, the hate fuels him, makes him better. And once again, when the pressure got the highest and the lights got the brightest, Brunson stepped up and delivered.
The Knicks won all three of the games at Little Caesars Arena in the series, and now will turn their focus to preparing to take on the defending champion Boston Celtics. It will be no easy task; they lost all four matchups against the Celtics in the rgular season.
It wasn't just that they lost, either. They lost the four games by a combined score of 65 points. In three of the four games they lost by double digits. If the Knicks are to give the Celtics a serious run, it is going to take plenty more games similar to the one Brunson had in Game 6.