Mike Breen broke out the double “bang” for Jalen Brunson’s go-ahead shot with a mere seconds left on the clock in the Knicks series clinching 116-113 win over the Pistons.
The signature voice of the Knicks and the NBA ecstatically called the shot as a stunned Little Ceasars Arena looked on as the Knicks pulled ahead by three and fans in New York likely celebrated at home at the chance to now face the Celtics in the second round.
“Brunson, puts up a three,” Breen described on air.
“BANG! BANG! Jalen Brunson hits the 3 with 4.3 remaining and the Pistons call a timeout!” he continued.
Breen added later: “Captain Crunchtime does it again.”
The longtime broadcaster has never failed to encapsulate the big moments when he’s on the call and the double “bang” is a rarity saved for only the largest stages, with Thursday’s moment being just the ninth time he’s done it, according to a list compiled by The Sporting News.
Breen broke out the double “bang” earlier this season for a Mikal Bridges buzzer-beater 3-pointer against the Trail Blazers last month.
The famed broadcaster previously explained to The Post what has to go into a moment for it to earn the double “bang” after Donte DiVincenzo hit a clutch 3-pointer in Game 2 of last year’s playoff series agains the 76ers.
“Three or four specific things had to happen and they did, so when he hit that shot and the crowd went crazy, it just came out,” Breen said at the time. “It’s not something that was thought of, it just came out for such a spectacular play during this extraordinary sequence in such a huge playoff game.”
Breen had said during an appearance on the “ESPN Daily” podcast in 2022 that the genesis of his signature catchphrase stemmed from his time at Fordham University.
The broadcaster started his journey as a student member of the college radio station WFUV, but the first time he yelled “bang” wasn’t on air.
“There was about 10 or 15 of us that joined the college radio station, WFUV, and we went to every Fordham basketball game if we weren’t announcing it,” he explained. “And we would go to the games and when a Fordham player hit a big shot, that was what I screamed in the stands. And that was the origin of why I tried using it on the air.”
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