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WATCH: R.J. Barrett hits incredible game-winning shot, Madison Square Garden erupts

SimonGibbs_UserImageby:Simon Gibbs01/06/22

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Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.

Evan Fournier put together a fantastic performance for the New York Knicks on Thursday, but it was Duke product R.J. Barrett that played the role of the hero, sinking a near-impossible three-point shot at the buzzer to beat the Boston Celtics, 108-105.

Fournier led all Knicks scorers with 41 points on 15-of-25 shooting, including a terrific 10-of-14 from three-point range. And while Barrett had an otherwise cold night, making just four of his 15 field-goal tries for 13 points, he sunk one when it mattered the most — a desperation three at the buzzer, with Jayson Tatum draped all over him.

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Barrett’s shot was incredible as is, but what made it more impressive was that it marked the end of an incredible comeback by the Knicks, who trailed the Celtics at halftime 63-47. The Knicks clawed their way back in the third and fourth quarters but didn’t pull away until his shot at the buzzer.

The Knicks managed to tie the game up at 101-101 with 1:19 left in regulation after an alley-oop conversion from Barrett to Mitchell Robinson, and a subsequent short-distance basket from Immanuel Quickley made it a 103-101 Knicks lead with 44 seconds left. However, the Knicks struggled with free throws down the stretch: Barrett missed one, Randle missed one and after two shots by the Celtics, the Knicks had vanquished their lead. The Celtics, courtesy of a Tatum stepback jumper, had tied the game at 105-105 with 2.2 seconds left. Then, Barrett hit the shot that once seemed impossible.