Knicks Stars Reflect on Legendary Comebacks

"We weren't ready at the jump and the game[s] got away from us," Brunson recalled when queried by co-host Matt Hillman. "But I think, at the same time, we were never down. We were never like 'damn, this is over.' We were like 'no, we just got to continue to chip away.' I remember our days at 'Nova, it was like you got to chip away. You're not going to get it all back in one shot, you've just got to chip away, chip away, keep focusing on the little things. All of a sudden, it's a two-possession game, then a one-possession game, then we have the lead."

Despite trailing by 16 at halftime, the Knicks took Game 1 by a 108-105 final in overtime, the game partly punctuated by dual 20-point showings from Brunson and OG Anunoby in the second half. In Game 2, the Knicks trailed by 16 with less than nine minutes left but eked out a 91-90 triumph for the highly-improbably 2-0 series lead. Both showings ended with clutch defensive antics from Brunson and Hart's collegiate and professional teammate Mikal Bridges.

The Knicks' eventual six-game triumph was all the more shocking considering Boston had earned a season sweep of the four-part set during the regular season, winning all but one of those games in one-sided fashion. Ironically enough, those games gave Hart the confidence that the Knicks would be able to stage the major comebacks when it mattered most.

"If you look at the games in the regular season ... throw out that [first] game, every other game was the same situation where we let them get a big lead and then we cut it down to a one-or-two possession game, and then there was a play here, play there that helped them extend their lead," Hart said. "Even in those moments, it was like, okay, we've been in this situation before and we've made runs, we've gotten back into the game ... We were just so locked in that we didn't let those lulls and those lapses that happened in the regular season happened."

Hart humorously recalled that he felt there was "no way [Boston] would let [the Knicks] do this again" during Game 2, during which Brunson claimed he posted one of his "best Josh Hart impression" with a 2-of-9 three-point performance. Nonetheless, all parties recovered to the tune of a 30-17 advantage in the final period of Game 2, allowing New York to return home with the utmost momentum.

Sterling fourth periods are perhaps expected with Brunson, the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year, in tow, but Hart stated that the team-wide efforts instilled the clutch faith that has propelled the Knicks to the conference final round.

"Our confidence in the fourth is extremely high," Hart said. "JB can take over in the fourth offensively, [Karl-Anthony Towns] can do the same, 'Kal has done it a couple of games. But then we have the ability to get stops, big stops. 'Kal has done it all year, OG obviously. Then you come in with Mitch [Robinson], Deuce [McBride], we always have that confidence, especially down late in the game. Anywhere we look, someone can make a play."

Among all participating playoff teams, the Knicks have the second-best three-point percentage in the fourth quarter (42.5), the third-best margin (3.1), and the fourth-best scoring output (27.9).