A true buzzer-beater was hardly a Bridge too far for New York Knicks broadcaster Mike Breen to engage in one of his most rare, if not most sought-after, calls.
Knicks star Mikal Bridges is the latest to earn the rare "double bang" from Breen, who broke out the utterance after he sank the game-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer that provided the victorious margin of New York's 114-113 overtime triumph over the Portland Trail Blazers in the wee hours of Thursday morning.
"[Josh] Hart gets it right back to Bridges, Bridges puts up a three ... BANG!!! BANG!!!" Breen said in his game-closing call alongside Jamal Crawford for MSG Network. "Mikal Bridges wins it at the buzzer!"
Bridges' buzzer-beater was the first of its kind in Knicks lore — one that took all remaining time off the clock and did not give the newly-trailing opponent a chance to counter — since January 2022, when RJ Barrett busted Boston at Madison Square Garden. That led Breen to break out the repeat use of his beloved catchphrase, which he saves for only the most exhilarating of occasions.
Including Bridges' heroic heave, Breen has now used the "double bang" nine times. The call originated in February 2016, when Stephen Curry threw up a Golden State game-winner from just in front of midcourt in Oklahoma City.
This is the first time Breen has gone "double bang" since last spring, when he used it to herald Jaylen Brown's game-tying three-pointer for the Boston Celtics in the opening game of the 2024 Eastern Conference against the Indiana Pacers.
Bridges is also the third Knick to land the honor, joining Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle. DiVincenzo landed it for his clutch three-pointer during Game 2 of last postseason's opening-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers while Randle's moment came during a regular season game in Miami in 2023. The Knicks were also the victim of a "double bang" in the 2021-22 season opener, when Boston's Marcus Smart launched a trip game-tying triple at MSG.
Humorously, Bridges' basket did not draw a similar response on the Blazers' local broadcast on the Rip City Television Network, where longtime play-by-play man Kevin Calabro could only muster a mere "got it" as the metropolitan celebration commenced on the floor. The shot came minutes after Calabro and broadcast partner Lamar Hurd happily heralded Portland's go-ahead tally with three seconds remaining, as Deni Avdija had created a two-point advantage with a successful and-one.
Though the Knicks' next game, a Saturday showdown with the Golden State Warriors (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC), is in an exclusive national window, Breen will likely be on the call as the head play-by-play man for ABC and ESPN. The Knicks will be back on MSG airwaves on Monday when they return to Madison Square Garden to host the Miami Heat.
