{"id":731491,"date":"2026-06-12T08:41:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T08:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/731491\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T08:41:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T08:41:12","slug":"gutsiest-shrewdest-move-ive-ever-seen-in-a-finals-game-nba-pundit-praises-knicks-hc-mike-browns-crucial-game-4-adjustment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/731491\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2019Gutsiest, Shrewdest Move I\u2019ve Ever Seen in a Finals Game\u2019 \u2014 NBA Pundit Praises Knicks HC Mike Brown\u2019s Crucial Game 4 Adjustment"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Knicks are just one win away from clinching their first championship in 53 years, following an unbelievable comeback in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While much of the attention has focused on OG Anunoby<\/a>\u2019s game-winner and Jalen Brunson<\/a>\u2019s second-half brilliance, veteran pundit Skip Bayless believes one of the game\u2019s defining moments came from the sidelines, a savvy second-half adjustment from Knicks coach Mike Brown.<\/p>\n

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Skip Bayless Hails Mike Brown\u2019s Jose Alvarado<\/a> Gamble in Knicks\u2019 Game 4 Comeback<\/p>\n

Speaking on \u201cGil\u2019s Arena\u201d on Thursday, Bayless couldn\u2019t stop praising Brown\u2019s decision to pair Jose Alvarado with Brunson during New York\u2019s historic comeback at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gutsiest, shrewdest coaching move I\u2019ve ever seen in a Finals game was with Jose Alvarado,\u201d Bayless said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With the Knicks trailing by 29 points early in the third quarter and searching for answers, Brown made a bold call. He sat an ineffective Mikal Bridges<\/a> midway through the frame and inserted Alvarado alongside Brunson, forming an undersized backcourt combination New York had barely used all season.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey\u2019d never played together one minute of their NBA lives, and you throw him out there for 10 minutes in the fourth quarter?\u201d Bayless continued. \u201cAnd guess what? Did he ever make you look genius \u2019cause he makes all three of his shots, and he makes two 3s, and they\u2019re huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE: \u2018Been the Most Reliable\u2019 \u2013 Rich Paul Names the Knicks\u2019 Current Finals MVP, and It\u2019s Not Jalen Brunson<\/a><\/p>\n

The move was particularly surprising given how rarely Brown had utilized the pairing before. Brunson and Alvarado played just 114 minutes together during the regular season and had not shared the floor at all during the Knicks\u2019 playoff run entering Game 4.<\/p>\n

Alvarado ended up playing 12 of the game\u2019s final 17 minutes. It was the most significant role he had been given all postseason, and he immediately repaid Brown\u2019s faith.<\/p>\n

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The 6-foot guard finished with 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists while shooting 3-for-4 from the field, including draining 2 crucial 3-pointers during New York\u2019s fourth-quarter rally.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the catalyst to the fourth quarter, was little Jose Alvarado playing with little Jalen Brunson,\u201d Bayless added.<\/p>\n

Brown himself echoed a similar sentiment after the contest, openly praising Alvarado\u2019s impact on both ends of the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cJose was unbelievable tonight. He changed the game,\u201d Brown told reporters.<\/p>\n

With New York now holding a commanding 3-1 series lead and sitting one victory away from ending its long-standing championship drought, Brown\u2019s gamble may ultimately be remembered as one of the most pivotal moments of this year\u2019s Finals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Knicks are just one win away from clinching their first championship in 53 years, following…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":731492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,38382,20455,94993,12845,12834,15566,590,2656,9275,10549,69950,85],"class_list":["post-731491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-finals-game","tag-jalen-brunson","tag-jose-alvarado","tag-knicks","tag-mikal-bridges","tag-mike-brown","tag-nba","tag-nba-finals","tag-og-anunoby","tag-san-antonio-spurs","tag-skip-bayless","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=731491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/731492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=731491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=731491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=731491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}