Starter? Role player? It doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n
It takes everyone to get the job done in the NBA Playoffs.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve been seeing that firsthand with the 2026 Knicks<\/a>, and it was again the case Saturday night as they took complete control of the Eastern Conference Finals with a wire-to-wire Game 3 win<\/a> in Cleveland<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Landry Shamet<\/a> was huge for New York, playing 28 minutes off the bench, including big ones down the stretch.<\/p>\n Those closing minutes were where Shamet shined the most, as he knocked down three of his four threes on the night to put any hope of a late Cavs comeback to rest.<\/p>\n He also stepped up big time on the other end of the floor, guarding All-Star Donovan Mitchell.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just that next play mentality,\u201d Shamet said. \u201cThe ball goes in, I\u2019m already thinking about guarding an All-Star on the other end and my assignment or what we\u2019re doing there defensively — that\u2019s the beauty of our team.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have five guys on the court who are constantly bought into that mentality — the ball found me a few times and it went in, and we just moved on and made plays defensively and were able to close the game out.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Shamet finished with all but nine of the team\u2019s 22 bench points on the night.<\/p>\n He did so on 4 of 5 shooting from three, bringing him to an efficient 7-for-8 during the Eastern Conference Finals, with six of those makes coming during the fourth quarter or overtime.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been big-time,\u201d Jalen Brunson<\/a> said. \u201cA true professional.\u201d<\/p>\n