Bojan Bogdanovic’s patience paid off in Game 2 of the Knicks’ first-round playoff series against the 76ers on Monday night.
After two seasons of toiling away on the league-worst Detroit Pistons, Bogdanovic returned to the playoffs and made his presence felt in the fourth quarter with a pair of clutch three-pointers.
With the Knicks leading by just one point with 10:03 remaining, Bogdanovic hit a three to put his team up by four. Two possessions later, he made another to give the Knicks an 85-78 lead. The Madison Square Garden crowd erupted, and Bogdanovic’s shots swung the momentum in the Knicks’ favor.
“From the beginning, from the first minute to last, it was electric,” Bogdanovic said after the game. “It was wild and we really needed it.”
The Knicks went on to win 104-101 and take a 2-0 lead in the series. Bogdanovic finished with six points on 2-of-7 shooting, but his two shots couldn’t have come at a better time.
“As a basketball player, I think every single player wanna be part this environment, be part of playoffs, especially this kind of game,” he said. “Especially with all the time that we hadn’t won the game [were trailing]. It’s big time.”
Bogdanovic is no stranger to big basketball atmospheres. He faithfully plays for the Croatian national team and spent the final years of his EuroLeague career playing for Turkish club Fenerbahce. But he said the Garden crowd stacks up to what he has experienced playing overseas.
“I mean kind of. It’s wild also over there,” he said with a laugh. “It’s different. It’s another story, but it’s pretty wild in here as well.”
