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Malik Beasley's Crucial Drop in Pistons-Knicks Had NBA Fans Making the Same Jokes

A very tough break for Detroit.

Brigid Kennedy

New York Knicks vs. Detroit Pistons as Malik Beasley bobbles and drops the ball on May 1, 2025.
New York Knicks vs. Detroit Pistons as Malik Beasley bobbles and drops the ball on May 1, 2025. / NBA, MSG / X / Screensho
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Poor Malik Beasley.

The Detroit Pistons guard made some big moves in Game 6 of the team's playoff series vs. the New York Knicks on Thursday night, but it will be his final miss that he's remembered for.

With the game tied and roughly four seconds left, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (fittingly 2024-25's Clutch Player of the Year) sank a crucial three-pointer to bring the score to 116-113. The Pistons then had a chance to even things out again, but Beasley bobbled and dropped the all-important pass from Cade Cunningham as time just about expired. Just like that, Detroit's Cinderella season was over.

Of course, NBA fans were not going to let such a mistake go without cracking a few jokes, most of which were either comparing Beasley to the Milwaukee Bucks' Gary Trent Jr. (who also had a fumble this week), roasting him for failing his team in the clutch, or likening what happened with this drop to the one that ended the Baltimore Ravens' season back in January.

And making matters even worse, Beasley had earlier Thursday claimed the Pistons were "mentally stronger" than New York. Oy vey; that did not age well.

Take a look at that reaction below:

It's a shame, too, because Beasley really did have a good start to the game. In the first two quarters alone, he had 18 points off of six threes, including the buzzer that tied the half, then later added another bucket for a game total of 20. Hopefully, he doesn't beat himself up too badly for what happened.

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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.

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