Kolek pulled an amazing chasedown block against Mitchell to strengthen the Knicks' 17-point comeback win over the Cavs on Christmas Day.
Tyler Kolek delivered the most important play for the New York Knicks on their big-time 126-124 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas Day.
With less than two minutes left in regulation, Kolek sprinted hard and swatted the ball from Donovan Mitchell, who was about to take off for a dunk finish to extend the Cavs' lead.
Officials initially deemed it a foul for the guard, but it was eventually overturned into a clean block that instantly ignited the Madison Square Garden crowd.
Kolek's chase-down rejection secured the Knicks' come-from-behind win after trailing by as many as 17 points in the final frame.
“We always talk about next-play speed and I saw him running and honestly if he ran and just did a regular layup, I wouldn’t have caught up to him,” Kolek said about Mitchell. “But he wanted to do some windmill s***.
"He slowed down. He was trying to do something crazy.”
Kolek's block served as the highlight of his heroics for the Knicks this Wednesday, as he erupted by scoring 11 of his 16 points in the final period.
Meanwhile, Mitchell was mindful enough to acknowledge the elite defensive play by Kolek against him.
“Credit to him, man. I didn’t see him at all,” Mitchell said after a 34-point losing effort. “I don’t slow up unless there’s nobody around and he was like at the wing. I didn’t even know anybody was behind me. So, credit to him.
"Hell of a play. That’s winning basketball.”
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