When Mikal Bridges hit a game-winning three to seal the New York Knicks’ win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, ESPN and MSG Networks play-by-play announcer Mike Breen didn’t just bring out his customary “Bang!” call.
He broke out the rare “Bang! Bang!”
BANG! BANG! 🚨
MIKAL BRIDGES BUZZER BEATER IN OT 🤯 pic.twitter.com/3vmZGFKBz4
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 13, 2025
That marked only the ninth time that Breen had offered up a double bang (third for the Knicks), which makes it all the more important when he does.
Breen has said in the past that he’s very selective about when he breaks out the ‘double bang,’ saying last year that “I think if you do it too much, it wears out its welcome. So I’ve tried to be selective not just with a double bang but even just a regular bang, for an important point in the game.”
Breen joined The Michael Kay Show on Friday, and Kay asked him how he knew that the call warranted a double bang.
“For example, that was one of the most bizarre finishes to regulation and overtime that I’ve seen in a long time,” Breen said, via Barrett Media. “It’s like there’s a minute there [where] you think, Okay, Knicks have this all secure.’ Then, there’s the next two possessions later, like, ‘They’re going to lose this game,’ so it was the seesaw-rollercoaster style that made it like, ‘Wow, they actually pulled this out.’”
Given that Breen has specific parameters for a double bang, would he ever consider the triple bang?
“No, no,” Breen said. “I was on Jalen Brunson’s and Josh Hart’s Roommates podcast and they asked me the same thing, and I told them. I said, ‘Alright, if somebody hits a game-winning shot in a Finals game, maybe that will do it,’ but I don’t know, I think that’s a little much.”
More specifically, Breen once told Pablo Torre that he would only consider the triple “if the Knicks ever make it into the NBA Finals.”
So there you go. If the Knicks ever return to the NBA Finals and hit a game-winning shot, we might witness true “Bang!” broadcasting history.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.