The eerie similarities between the last two Game 6s

The Knicks closed out Detroit in an eerily similar way to how they closed out Philadelphia last season.

Last night, thankfully, mercifully, the Knicks pulled out the series win against the Pistons, surviving a back-and-forth Game 6 in a series that neither team ever held a 20-point lead. For reference, the other seven playoff series had a game end with a 20-point margin (except Rockets-Warriors, but Game 5 was as lopsided as you can get for a 15-point win).

While the outlook for the second round is rather bleak, you shouldn’t take stuff like this for granted. It’s just the third playoff series victory for the Knicks since 2013 and the fourth in almost a quarter-century. Worrying about Boston right now is for the team; enjoy the next few days as a fan.

The way this series ended, though, was notable. If you think back to how the gritty, nasty, heart-palpating series against the Sixers last season ended, the final game was almost identical.

While we look back at last night, let’s also reminisce about a great game played 365 days ago in the City of Brotherly Love.

The Background

Yep, even the background is strikingly similar.

Both series were gritty, nasty affairs by two teams who did not like each other. Every game in both series (aside from maybe Game 3 vs PHI) was down-to-the-wire.

Both series saw a pair of controversial endings. In Game 2 against Philly, Tyrese Maxey was mauled in a sequence that led to a shocking Knicks comeback. In Game 5, Maxey had an uncalled travel that led to a miraculous Sixers comeback.

In this series, you had the infamous missed call on a Hardaway 3 at the end of Game 4. Pistons fans will also cry about Game 3 and the “backcourt violation” but completely ignore the atrocious game clock fiasco.

And lastly, both series saw a closeout opportunity for the Knicks slip away in Game 5 on home turf. In 2024, they blew a six-point lead in under 30 seconds before losing in OT. This year, the Knicks trailed for much of the fourth but were even until a comical final three minutes.

Both led to a Game 6 in hostile territory with the threat of blowing a 3-1 lead and getting to Game 7 with no momentum as a strong possibility.

Strong First Quarter

The Knicks got off to a hot start last night. Energized by wanting to put the feisty Pistons to bed, the Knicks were active defensively and got early buckets in a great change-of-pace from their typical offensive gameplan. The ball was moving, Brunson was cooking (15 points, 4 assists, 7-9 FG), and the Knicks went up big.

They shot 60% from the field and went 4-for-10 from 3, while Detroit shot just 40% and 2-for-9 from deep with three turnovers. While it never got truly out of hand, the Knicks got out to a 14-point lead after one after Deuce McBride finally nailed a three to close the quarter:

Up 14, they were just two away from the largest lead of the series. They even took a 15-point lead a minute into the second.

In last year’s Game 6, the Knicks similarly exploded out of the gate, ambushing a Sixers team that couldn’t even have a real home crowd. They led 7-0, 17-4, 26-9, and finally, 33-11 after just 9:38 of game had elapsed:

Philly crept back with a trio of triples by Cam Payne and Nic Batum and trailed 36-22 after one. In both games, the Knicks led by 14 after the first quarter.

Role Player Explosion Gives Opponent The Lead At Half

When everything was looking great for the Knicks in Game 6 last night, it all fell apart.

Their offense became stagnant and Detroit finally began to look the part of a team facing elimination. It started with a three by Dennis Schroder to cut it to 12, but the main culprit was the flamboyant Malik Beasley, who may have a sponsorship lined up with a certain candy bar after how this one ended.

Beasley, who entered the game a ghastly 23.5% from deep in his last four games, hit one after another after another.

The crowd got into it, the Knicks stumbled offensively, and Beasley’s fourth triple winded up tying the game at 49, a 19-5 run.

It was a mortifying watch. Everything he shot, regardless of coverage, was going in.

It was almost identical to what happened to the Knicks last year in Philly.

In that game, the Knicks led 38-24 before the Sixers started feeding Buddy Hield, another role player who can catch absolute fire from distance. Hield powered a relentless Sixers comeback, hitting his fifth three on an eerily similar shot to the one that I just showed by Malik Beasley.

Both players went 5-for-8 from 3 in the quarter to lead their teams to a halftime lead. Hield spearheaded a 27-10 run to go up 54-51, while Beasley hit his fifth triple to give Detroit a halftime lead on a shot that everyone knew was going in based off how ridiculous that quarter has gone:

A Second Half Knicks Revival

While the Knicks started the third extremely flat in 2024, leading to them trailing by ten with under seven minutes left in the quarter, the Knicks came out with fire in this year’s edition.

Perhaps aided by some layup lines, the Knicks sprinted out to a six-point cushion before eventually stretching it to 11. After ghastly shooting (37/13/100 splits) in the second with turnover woes, the Knicks shot 61% from the field and went 4-for-7 from 3 in an inspired effort that led to them entering the fourth with a double digit lead.

It took a bit longer for the revival to happen in 2024, but the Knicks ended the third quarter on a 22-12 run to tie it up, as OG Anunoby nailed this three to even the score at 83 entering the fourth:

The Knicks would pull away in this one too, taking a 105-98 lead with 4:07 left in the game.

Opponent Punches Back

Of course, nothing easy.

After the Knicks took a 103-92 lead last night with 8:52 left, the Pistons went on a mortifying 20-2 run over the next six minutes, taking a seven-point lead and leaving every Knicks fan in utter disbelief. Even the steadfast believers thought we were screwed.

This also happened last year, but not this extreme. After taking an eight-point lead against the Sixers with 3:27 left, Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. led a fierce comeback that resulted in a game-tying and-1 with under 40 seconds left.

The Series-Defining Dagger

In Philadelphia, the Knicks had the ball in a 111-111 game with 34.9 left.

After the Knicks got up off the mat in Detroit last night, they had the ball in a 113-113 game with 21 seconds left.

In Philly, the desperation to make someone else beat them led to the Sixers blitzing Brunson, leaving Josh Hart wide open for three. After a ball fake, Hart sank the go-ahead triple with 24.4 left.

In Detroit, Jalen Brunson took his time, shook Ausar Thompson all the way to Windsor, and stepped into a wide open three at the same spot, at the top of the key, and sank it with under five seconds to go:

While the ending in Detroit was straight forward, the last 25 seconds in Philly was a free throw laden mess, ending with Buddy Hield throwing up some BS at the end.

Hield and Beasley each hit five threes in the second quarter to get their teams the lead.

Both had the ball in their hands to end it after going ice cold. One bricked, the other had butterfingers.

BONUS: Captain Clutch

Oh yeah, Brunson also dropped 40 in both of these games.

Couldn’t leave that part out.