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Ben Stiller: I am a Tom Thibodeau fan. He brought this team back. I felt he gave every bit of himself and was always looking to improve. I will always be grateful for how far he brought the Knicks. They are relevant again. They are championship contenders again. The Knicks became winners again with him. Thank you COACH THIBS.
NBA on TNT: "I'm playing you in the biopic!" 😆 @TurnerSportsEJ & @RealChalamet finally linked during Game 4 🤝
"I'm playing you in the biopic!" 😆@TurnerSportsEJ & @RealChalamet finally linked during Game 4 🤝 pic.twitter.com/7dtXBclLH5
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 28, 2025
Alex Golden: Pat McAfee hypes the crowd up: “Spike Lee is here. Ben Stiller is here. Timothee Chalamet is here. Let’s send these SOBs back to New York.”
Pat McAfee hypes the crowd up:
— Alex Golden (@AlexGoldenNBA) May 28, 2025
“Spike Lee is here. Ben Stiller is here. Timothee Chalamet is here. Let’s send these SOBs back to New York.” pic.twitter.com/2nZbsl6aIm
Pat McAfee, who also appears as a commentator on WWE’s “Monday Night Raw,” channeled his inner wrestling heel as he chided the likes of Spike Lee, Ben Stiller and Timothée Chalamet. “Indianapolis, Indiana, we’ve got some bigwigs from the big city in the building,” McAfee started off saying. “Spike Lee is here,” he said as the crowd booed. “Ben Stiller is here,” he continued eliciting more boos. “Timothée Chalamet is here. Let’s send these sons of bitches back to New York with their ears ringing. Let’s turn this s–t up!”
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Outside of the sports world, Brunson’s dagger got the reaction of many celebrities, including actor Jerry O’Connell, who posted a video on X. “We want Boston…we want Boston,” O’Connell yelled out. Actor and director Ben Stiller also expressed his support through a series of posts on X, with one addressing NBA broadcaster Mike Breen’s rare “double bang” call after the shot. Comedian Jon Stewart was clearly excited following the 28-year-old’s performance, posting “BRUNSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The 76ers All-Star guard put on a show — he finished with 46 points, including seven three-pointers and the game-tying three to force OT — and it wasn’t well received by MSG’s famed celebrity row of diehard Knicks faithful. Comedian Tracy Morgan flashed his right middle finger in the direction of Maxey after the 23-year-old celebrated saving Philadelphia’s season with his game-tying three at the end of regulation.
Matt Jones: Tracy Morgan giving Tyrese Maxey the middle finger after his game tying shot.
Tracy Morgan giving Tyrese Maxey the middle finger after his game tying shot pic.twitter.com/372csHVW2t
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) May 1, 2024
Stiller, meanwhile, was standing next to Morgan, as seen in a photo of the viral moment, which showed the actor staring at Maxey with an angry grin on his face. “I never really understood what ‘seething mad’ meant until i saw ben stiller’s face here,,buddy STEAMING lmaooo,” one fan wrote on X. Comedian and television host Jon Stewart poked fun at himself when his perplexed reaction to the Maxey show became a meme. “Respect to Maxey…but damn…I’m clearly getting too old for this s–t,” Stewart wrote in a post on X, including the image, which featured him standing at his courtside seat as Maxey ran past him towards the 76ers bench after hitting the game-tying shot.
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On Friday, a day before the Knicks and 76ers were set to do battle in the first round of the NBA playoffs, Kelly Oubre Jr. spoke about the incredible crowd at The Garden, but he took a not-so-subtle shot at the way A-listers are treated at The World’s Most Famous Arena. “They’re gonna give celebrities those $100,000 [worth of] free tickets just to be there and not care about the game,” Oubre said. “That’s what they do.” Well, Ben Stiller, an avid and vocal Knicks fan, waded into the conversation with a sarcastic reply on Friday before taking an actual shot at Oubre on Saturday.
Oh I think I care a lot more than you think that you thought I cared…
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) April 20, 2024
Kelly Who-bre? #KNICKS #PURPLECOBRAS https://t.co/ZnnbvIhphZ
On a cool November day 20 years ago, John Hamburg watched Philip Seymour Hoffman deliver the line and put up a shot on a makeshift basketball court in downtown Los Angeles. The take was fine, but not quite what the director envisioned. He approached the future Academy Award-winning actor. “Phil, this guy thinks he’s Michael Jordan,” Hamburg said. “When he’s saying, ‘Let it rain!’ you gotta blurt it out.” LET IT RAIN!
This was early in the shooting of “Along Came Polly,” a 2004 romantic comedy about a risk assessment analyst (Ben Stiller) who falls for a former classmate (Jennifer Aniston). The opposites-attract story has nothing to do with sports, yet it contains one of the funniest basketball scenes in film, including a performance by Hoffman that still inspires imitation today. Hoffman plays Sandy Lyle, a former child star who uses confidence to mask his insecurity. On the basketball court this translates into trash talk and the cringey sound of a jump shot slamming off a metal backboard.
On the basketball court that day, Hamburg understood why Hoffman seemed hesitant — he was starting to get recognized as one of the great talents of his generation after memorable roles in “Flawless,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Almost Famous.” Hoffman didn’t want to look foolish, but Hamburg also knew the actor liked to be challenged.
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