NBA playoffs 2025 - Why Knicks' Bridges and Anunoby could swing Game 6 - ESPN

AS TOBIAS HARRIS spotted up from the left wing late in a Game 6 during the NBA playoffs' first round last month, the Detroit Pistons veteran saw New York Knicks wing Mikal Bridges sprinting at him, prompting Harris to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket instead.

But Harris, looking to cap the possession with a dunk, had company at the rim. New York's OG Anunoby had gotten there first, swatting the attempt away. Knicks guard Josh Hart recovered the ball, immediately throwing a hit-ahead pass to Bridges in transition.

Bridges, with two defenders to beat in the open floor — Cade Cunningham in front and Malik Beasley closing from the left — pounded two dribbles into the Little Caesars Arena hardwood before rising for a left-handed slam over Cunningham's outstretched arm.

«That's a man's jam!» play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle shouted as Bridges finished the play. For good measure, Bridges shouted, too, and punched the air in celebration before getting back on defense.

The full sequence — Bridges' close-out, Anunoby's block and then Bridges again for his thunderous dunk — showcased the Knicks' vision for the two-way pair: guard everyone and serve as floor-spacers who punish opponents from the corners when defenses crowded guard Jalen Brunson.

Adding the 28-year-old Bridges and the 27-year-old Anunoby came at a steep price, and with risks. In July, New York surrendered five first-round picks to land Bridges in a rare crosstown deal with the Brooklyn Nets. Less than two weeks earlier, the Knicks agreed to a five-year, $212 million free agent deal — the richest in franchise history — to bring back Anunoby after trading RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to the Toronto Raptors last season. Some pundits criticized New