DETROIT — We may never know just how important Jalen Brunson’s shot actually was. That’s the beauty of such brilliance. In this world, a flick of a wrist can turn gray skies crystal blue. A single basket can alter the trajectory of livelihoods, or a franchise. One person, one moment, can change the course of reality.
Kevin Durant’s toe kissing the 3-point line in a Game 7 playoff matchup in 2021 against the Milwaukee Bucks sent the Brooklyn Nets spiraling. On the other end of the spectrum, Kawhi Leonard’s four-bounce game winner against the 76ers in Game 7 of a second-round playoff series in 2019 led to Canada being home to the world champions for the first time ever.
The difference of an inch, and history is remembered differently.
On the surface, what Brunson did Thursday night in Detroit, hitting a game-winning 3 with 4.3 seconds left to help the Knicks win a bloodbath of a six-game series against the feisty Pistons, was needed to advance to the next round. It was a shot that’ll live in New York’s history as one of the greatest in the franchise’s archives. Those two things are clear. That shot will forever be talked about. Yet, it also may have saved jobs. It may have saved these Knicks as we know them. Those things, as it pertains to this series, well, we’ll never get to find out.
The final points of Brunson’s 40-point performance carried the weight of a franchise. For the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year, though, that’s nothing new.
“He’s at his best when his best is needed,” said New York head coach Tom Thibodeau, whose team edged Detroit 116-113.
cap has the CLUTCH gene 🧬 pic.twitter.com/VXifNIULaK
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 2, 2025
In an alternative universe, Brunson’s crossover to shake loose the tight grips of Ausar Thompson is followed by a shot that misses short. The Pistons then go on to win in regulation or overtime. That’s not far-fetched to believe. After all, Detroit gave New York everything it could handle and then some, with a series that was decided by 3 points or fewer in four of the six games.
From there, the series would go to a Game 7 back inside Madison Square Garden. Surely, the veteran-led Knicks who finished the regular season with 51 wins would pull out a victory over the new kids on the block, right? That could happen. It’s also possible that the Pistons go into Manhattan and win on the road for the third time this series against a team that is beaten, battered and bruised.
What would be birthed from that universe is changes of some magnitude, without question. There’s been whispers all season that if the Knicks lost in the first round that things wouldn’t be the same next year. Maybe it’s the coach, if all the parties above him feel the roster hasn’t been utilized correctly. Maybe it’s the front office because, after all, someone had to convince the owner that paying a luxury tax and trading the rest of the franchise’s assets would lead to greener pastures. Maybe it would be both. The ties between the suits and the sideline do run deep. Owners fire people for much worse. Maybe players get traded. Maybe risks are taken.
Disappointment coupled with expectations breeds change. And while you may be underwhelmed with how New York got to the second round, it did what it was supposed to do. The alternative universe is nothing to consider.
“The ball did go in, so that’s all I care about,” Brunson said.
Reality now takes the Knicks to Boston, where they’ll face the defending champion Celtics on Monday to start the second round of the playoffs. Boston went undefeated against New York during the regular season and won three of the four games in dominating fashion. With that said, Brunson’s shot in Detroit presents one more opportunity for everyone to get it right. The players get another chance to prove that they belong on the same floor. The front office gets another chance to prove that what it built can succeed. The coach gets another chance to get the most out of this roster. Knicks fans get to keep rooting on their team.
New York, like it has all season, did it the hard way. It had chances to put the Pistons away sooner than six games, but it never made it easy on itself for most of the regular season, so why start now? In the end, though, the Knicks got it done. That’s what matters at this stage — survive and advance. Beating an NBA team once is hard enough. Beating a team four times isn’t easy, even if some make it look that way.
Who’s to say changes still won’t come if New York is unable to put together a competitive series against the Celtics? Anything is possible when expectations and investments are large. However, the Knicks’ decision-makers don’t have to worry about that now. There’s still more basketball to play.
Brunson’s shot felt like so much more than just another game winner. It saved and revitalized a team. It allowed the fans to still have something to believe in.
Thursday in Detroit was Captain Clutch’s most important performance yet, even if he didn’t know it in the moment. Brunson may have saved these Knicks as we know them.
(Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)