This was it, a “Battle of NY” for “Champions of the DSN World”. Knicks vs Nets, NY vs Brooklyn.
This game was everything you expected it to be with both teams playing their hearts out and leaving it all on the floor. But in the end, the Knicks completed a thrilling perfect season with a 17-14 victory over the Nets.
The game started and in front of a sell-out crowd, the Nets came out strong as Meyer Sakall hit a jumper to get the Nets off and running and gave them an early 2-0 lead. The game was physical as expected, so points came at a premium early on. However, despite being down early the bright side for the Knicks here was that they were constantly getting good looks at the basket on offense and it was only a matter of time before those shots started falling.
That time came 11 minutes into the game, as a Solomon Sayeg Free Throw, a David Bawabeh layup , a Phillip Sherr bank shot and a Joshua Kassin Free Throw later, the Knicks had taken the lead at 6-3.
Flying high with confidence, the Knicks finished out of the half with a bang, as Joshua Kassin sank a buzzer-beating 3, to give the Knicks a commanding 9-3 advantage at the break.
In the final half of the season, the two teams left it all out there.
The Nets came out flying led by Jojo Movazeb, as he got the Nets faithful back into it with his intensity, cutting the Knicks lead down to 9-6. That started another Nets charge led by Meyer Sakall, as in the blink of an eye, he helped Brooklyn turn a seemingly big deficit, into a 14-12 Nets lead.
But as they had done all year, the Knicks would respond to these runs, as with the game entering it’s final minutes, as Raymond Ashkanazi hit a Free Throw, to get the Knicks nation back in it as they only trailed 14-13 with 4:15 remaining in these Finals. Then, as he had done all year for his team in clutch situations, Phillip Sherr put a fire into his team by tying this by knocking down a clutch Free Throw with 2 minutes remaining to send the crowd into a frenzy and tie this game at 14!!
The last 2 minutes showed grit, passion and determination from both teams as they fought for that golden championship trophy.
With 90 seconds to go , another Solomon Sayeg Free Throw put the Knicks ahead 15-14, prompting a timeout to be called moments later with 70 seconds remaining.
Ultimately, it came down to a “Battle of the Free Throws” to decide this thrilling season and with 6 seconds left, Abie Jammal became the “Free Throw Hero” as he sank two clutch FTs to put the Knicks ahead by 3 and a missed Meyer Sakall half court heave later, the Knicks were champions!!!
FINALS MVP: Abie Jemal
It came down to him and he delivered.
To have that much pressure on you and to still come up clutch like that, is amazing!
Congrats on your Championship Abie! You earned it!
SEASON MVP: Phillip Sherr
When his team needed him most, he came up clutch, especially in this championship game propelling the Knicks to a perfect season.
CONGRATULATIONS KNICKS:
Throughout the season, I don’t think I saw a team that was less unselfish more skilled then the Knicks. You guys stayed poised all season long under pressure and it helped you win game after game en route to a perfect season.
Congratulations guys, you may now have your parade!!
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