Major Payne! 'Fun' Guides Knicks Reserve to Unexpected Heroics

Cameron Payne's fourth quarter breakout was sweet relief for the New York Knicks.

Geoff Magliocchetti | Apr 20, 2025

Apr 19, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Cameron Payne (1) gestures after making a three point shot against the Detroit Pistons in Game One of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

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New York Knicks

With apologies to SpongeBob SquarePants, no one defined "fun" better than Cameron Payne did on Saturday night, at least from a New York Knicks perspective.

Payne is the latest unexpected metropolitan postseason hero after Game 1 of the Knicks' Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Detroit Pistons: with Jalen Brunson ailing and the visiting Pistons leading, Payne provided relief to the tune of an 11-point effort in the fourth quarter, one that proved to be the difference in a 123-112 New York victory.

Payne, scorer of 14 total points on Saturday, rallied the Madison Square Garden crowd in more ways than one: upon his exit from the game in the penultimate minute, Payne encouraged his newfound adoring public to get even louder, drawing laughs and love taps from the New York bench. He even met the Focker after the game, sharing a joyful hug with actor and celebrity Knicks fan Ben Stiller after time expired.

“I [am one of] the oldest guys on the team, so having somebody into the game, it’s a different kind of experience, especially for the rookies,” Payne said of his animated efforts, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “We’re in the NBA, sometimes people have the chill [mindset], just chilling. I’m happy to be in the league, I enjoy it, so I try to just have fun every single night. I could be doing something else, but I’m playing in the Garden. I've got have fun. I just try my best to bring my energy and it’s infectious. Everybody feeds off it. That’s a good feeling.”

To Payne's point, he is the oldest player in the regular Knicks rotation (only deep reserves PJ Tucker and Delon Wright are more seasoned) and he is tied with Wright for the second-longest NBA tenure on the full roster.

But Payne refused to act his age with a potential postseason crisis looming for New York, which brought him aboard after observing his work as a Philadelphia 76er during last postseason's opening round.

Down by eight at the onset of the fourth with Brunson absent after apparently aggravating an ankle that previously kept him out for a month, Payne planted the seeds for a New York comeback. A 21-0 run that permanently placed momentum in the hosts' corner began with a successful Payne and-one, the first of several threes he'd hit before all was said and done.

CAM PAYNE IS ON A 4TH QUARTER HEATER 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ubJXI24W6S
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 20, 2025

Brunson returned to the game before Payne posted his freebie. From there on out, the backcourt duo put in 17 points of the aforementioned momentum shifter, which featured two conventional triples from Payne, including the equalizer. Payne is just the third Knicks reserve to score at least 11 points in a postseason game's fourth quarter since 1996-97, joining Alec Burks and JR Smith (three times).

"I’ve been kind of waiting on this game and how I played today all year," Payne said in video from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, where he also recalled the Garden getting "loud as s***" from an opponent's point of view. "I’m grateful. I thank God for everything that happened tonight. I’m just grateful to be still playing in the league, honestly.”

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Published Apr 20, 2025