Watch: Carmelo Anthony Tries to Clear Josh Hart Away for Jalen Brunson’s Huge Clutch 3 vs 76ers

One of the perks of playing basketball in New York is the number of celebrities you see courtside. Yesterday, the Knicks players got to see the legendary Carmelo Anthony provide some masterful calls while sitting behind the basket as they held off a strong 76ers comeback in the win.

Melo, who had his share of clutch shots at MSG, was actually instrumental in the Knicks‘ win last night, but not in the way he’d have expected.

With 1:36 left in the 4th quarter and the score tied, Jalen Brunson was bringing the ball down the floor, trying to get free and get a shot off. Melo, who was eagerly watching, tried to shout at Josh Hart, telling him to clear the floor and let Brunson work in an iso-move.

Hart wasn’t looking in his direction, but maybe he heard Melo because he proceeded to vacate the wing, allowing Brunson the space required to drill his clutch bucket.

Of course, as a specialist iso player himself, Melo knew exactly what a player of Brunson’s caliber would require and made sure Hart would give him that.

With Brunson backing his defender, Tyrese Maxey, into the left wing, he indicated to Hart that he wanted some space to go to work. Melo was yelling the exact same thing, and Hart did as instructed.

Fans had a field day with this too, replying on the New York Basketball social media post to joke about Melo’s behavior.

One of them pointed out how Melo’s experience was critical to that move, claiming it was similar to a shot he hit against Chicago in the same arena. “How fitting.. reminds me of Melo 3 vs the Bulls,” he said.

Another eagle-eyed observer claimed Melo was doing the same thing in Team USA’s Olympic Game against Serbia: “Melo did the same with KD during the USA/Serbia lol.”

A third decided to go down the nostalgia route, and wondered what a team with Carmelo Anthony and Brunson would look like, commenting, “Prime Melo + Brunson woulda have been.”

Brunson’s 3 kickstarted a huge run for the Knicks, who eventually went on to score 5 more points in the last minute, securing the 110-105 victory.