WATCH: Jalen Brunson got away with a trick play that became an instant meme

New York Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson cooked Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis with a brilliant trick play before hitting the game-clinching shot on Saturday night.
New York Knicks v Portland Trail Blazers
New York Knicks v Portland Trail Blazers / Soobum Im/GettyImages
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The Sacramento Kings committed malpractice on Saturday night when they decided to have Keon Ellis guard New York Knicks All-Star floor general Jalen Brunson for much of the night, most notably in crunch time with the game on the line.

Brunson had Ellis on an island by himself all night and made the Kings pay for it, scoring 42 points and guiding the Knicks to an important win on the road at the Golden 1 Center, including this incredible trick play that almost went unnoticed had it not gone viral as an instant meme.

Jalen Brunson torches Keon Ellis and seals win for Knicks

With roughly 40 seconds remaining on the game clock and the Knicks leading by three, Brunson had the ball near half-court with Ellis matched up on him, with the former noticing the latter was looking for a screen. 

So what’d Brunson do? He called for a pick (one that never came), which caught the attention of Ellis, who quickly turned his head to the right to see if anyone was coming behind him. And by the time the latter devoted his attention back to his original assignment, the former was off to the races before sinking what ended up being the game-sealing shot.

Ellis looked visibly lost, like he needed a map when he realized Brunson blew past him with an incredibly high-IQ move – one picture of his facial expression told 1,000 words.

Brunson was burning Sacramento all night, as he has done regularly throughout the season as the driving force of the Knicks, converting 17 of his 28 field goal attempts en route to a 98-91 road victory. He joined Bernard King, Patrick Ewing, and Carmelo Anthony as the only four players in franchise history to score at least 40 points in consecutive games.

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