Mike Breen doesn’t plan on when he’ll use his iconic “Bang!” call, or the rare and even more iconic double “Bang!” exclamation.
It’s a natural response based on emotion, the Knicks voice and lead ESPN NBA play-by-player said, one elicited from watching a great moment or sequence unfold that captivates both him and his television audience.
A moment like Monday’s wild scramble that led to Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo’s game-winning 3-pointer in their miraculous 104-101 win over the 76ers in Game 2, which put the Knicks up 2-0 in the first-round NBA playoff series.
That sequence earned just the sixth double “Bang” call from Breen in his Hall of Fame career.
“Three or four specific things had to happen and they did, so when he hit that shot and the crowd went crazy, it just came out,” Breen, who was calling the game for MSG, told The Post on Wednesday in a phone interview.
“It’s not something that was thought of, it just came out for such a spectacular play during this extraordinary sequence in such a huge playoff game.”
Great sports moments are heightened by great announcers delivering iconic calls, and Breen’s “Bang” catchphrase is part of the NBA lexicon.
And a moment reaches rarified air when he unleashes a “Bang! Bang!” call.
Breen, who recalled all five prior usages, first used the double “Bang” in 2016 when Steph Curry hit a game-winning 3-pointer against the Thunder that tied an NBA record with his 12th make from deep.
He then used it for Eric Gordon’s game-tying 3-pointer against the Lakers in 2019, Luka Doncic’s game-winning 3 to down the Clippers in the 2020 playoffs and Marcus Smart’s game-tying 3-pointer against the Knicks on Opening Night in the 2021-22 season opener, the only one to be used against the Knicks.
Before Monday, he last used it in 2023 when Julius Randle downed the Heat with a miraculous 3.
Breen’s call will now forever accompany one of the great all-time Knicks wins.
Following a Knicks steal while trailing by two in the final 20 seconds, DiVincenzo drilled a 3-pointer to give the Knicks a 102-101 lead.
“DiVincenzo, a 3, bang! Bang!” Breen yelled.
Breen, who has been inside Madison Square Garden for some of its greatest moments, said Monday marked one of the loudest crowds he’s experienced.
“That’s going to become one of my favorite all-time moments,” Breen said. “There’s something special about this team. It’s not just group of individual players, it’s truly a team, so that made it extra fun.
“The Knicks have gone through hard stretches and to have a team this exciting, there’s no fan base in the world that deserves a team like this like Knicks fans. … I’m a lifetime New Yorker, so not the most objective, but there’s no better sound in sports than a roar at Madison Square Garden. That all comes into play, how fans have stuck with the team, and to let them have that moment made it especially satisfying.”
The voice of the Knicks called it “incredibly flattering” that fans treat his double “Bang” with such prestige.
“You want to give a big moment its proper due and give it a call that’s worthy of the play,” Breen said. “If it wasn’t for the players making these extraordinary plays, I’m not screaming ‘Bang’ or double ‘Bang’. … You call the game for the viewers and to have them enjoy your call is very gratifying.”
Breen will be back behind the mic on MSG for Game 3 on Thursday and will call all the remaining games for the network — aside from Game 4 on Sunday, which airs on ABC — alongside Walt “Clyde” Frazier.
For Breen, being able to use prestigious double “Bang” territory was even more meaningful since it involved his childhood team.
“It wouldn’t have changed how I called the moment, whether it was on national TV or on MSG,” Breen, a Fordham graduate, said. “To do that for Knicks fan, to do it with Clyde next to me and with this crew, the ups and downs we’ve experienced together, we just have so much fun.
“We were texting on the ride home that night that we’re so glad we had this moment together, this crew is like a family and that made it mean a little bit extra.”
