Knicks 124, Lakers 123: Mario Hezonja > LeBron James

The New York Knicks were down 11 to a crappy Lakers team with just under three minutes to go. I had to wake up early this morning and take my wife to work, so I was just counting down the seconds until I can publish this and take a nice Sunday nap.

And then...madness. The ‘Bockers closed on 13-1 run thanks to some clutch buckets from Emmanuel Mudiay (28 points) and preposterous shot-making from Damyean Dotson (25 points).

Mudiay hit two big free throws after the Lakers inexplicably fouled him in the perimeter despite being in the penalty. However, they still had LeBron James, who had torched the Knicks for 33 points to that point. I’m sure the sight of LeBron holding the ball down a single point felt like just another inevitable Knicks loss to nearly everyone watching at The Garden.

At least one person at MSG this afternoon did not agree with that assessment: the dude guarding LeBron on that fateful possession, Mario Hezonja. The cocky Croatian stayed in front of the King as he drove toward the basket, pawed at the ball as LeBron went up for the shot, and came away with one of the most unlikely clutch blocks in recent NBA history.

Your final score is Knicks 124, Lakers 123. What a finish. Matt Miranda will have your recap.