Knicks confident in Jalen Brunson's ability in crunch time
The Knicks' Jalen Brunson gestures to fans after making a three-point shot during the second half of Game 5 in an NBA second-round playoff series against the \ Pacers on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II
INDIANAPOLIS — When Josh Hart spent a brief portion of his career in Portland, he learned the mystique of Dame Time — the late-game moments when the rest of the team’s job was done and it was time to put the ball in the hands of Damian Lillard. And while it may not yet have a smooth nickname — Brun Time? Jal Time? — he is certain that the Knicks have that in Jalen Brunson, too.
With a chance to close not just a game, but the Eastern Conference semifinals with a win Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, it is, as it has been much of the season, time to let Brunson perform his magic.
“I have a lot of faith,” Hart said. “It was one of those things just like playing with Dame. Dame was like, ‘All right, we keep this game in close,’ in the last two minutes. He can go win it for us. My short stint with Dame and in Portland, that was my mentality. It was make sure the game is within striking distance in the last couple of minutes and Dame can go do what Dame does.
“And it's the same thing with Jalen. He's great at being able to get his own shot. He's selfless enough to get off the ball to double, to be able to get to the free-throw line. So with him, it's the same thing. I have all the trust in the world, you know, for him to go out there and make the right play and sometimes it's not scoring, but it's just him making the right play and same mentality of keep this game close. If it’s a back and forth game, give him the ball at the end and I’ve got full trust in him winning.”
Brunson and coach Tom Thibodeau dismiss this notion — insisting more on the team concept. But it’s hard to ignore what Brunson has done, averaging an NBA-best 33.9 points per game throughout the postseason. And after struggling with a right foot injury that hampered him in Games 3 and 4, he put the team on his back Tuesday with 44 points for a one-sided win in Game 5, giving the Knicks a 3-2 series lead.
“No,” Brunson said, laughing. “For me, I think honestly the bigger lead that we have is obviously more and more comfortable. I think when you’re out there you’re trying to create the best advantage for you and your team. Obviously, when it’s a close game you got to go through the close game moments. But no matter what’s going on out there you have to focus on next play and whatever we could do to be successful. I think Dame is just a different breed, let’s be honest.
“It’s really cool,” he added of the comparison. “Obviously, Dame is a Hall of Famer, all that stuff. But sometimes it can be misconstrued whatever comes out of Josh’s mouth. He’s a great player and just to be in the same breath is . . . yeah.”
“It’s how the team functions as a group, not individual players,” Thibodeau said. “Having everyone work together is important. From the outside, sometimes it’s easy to see, obviously all the things Jalen does, but it’s not just Jalen. It’s those guys working together. Jalen gets double-teamed, it’s the other guys functioning off of that and Josh Hart, we mentioned the thing about his ability to rebound and push the ball. Those easy baskets are huge for us. Jalen gets double-teamed, we know that opens the backside and good three-point shots and offensive rebounding. So play as a team, play as a unit, stick together. We know we have to play hard to give ourselves a chance to win.”
The Knicks are intent on not taking this chance lightly even with the cushion of a potential Game 7 back home at Madison Square Garden. Brunson still recalls last season’s failure in Miami when he turned the ball over in the final seconds of Game 6, and to be honest, he still recalls the losses in high school. It all serves as motivation and reminders of what can go wrong if the focus isn’t right.
“You learn from it,” Brunson said. “It’s not necessarily a motivation, it’s what’s going to help you win and what you have to stay away from. I’m a competitor. You don’t want to lose. It’s plain and simple. And I’ve never lost and said, ‘Alright.’ But one thing about me, I just like to keep the things that help me to myself, because it’s important to me and I don’t really care what other people think about it or say about it. That’s why I keep the stuff that I want to keep to myself.”
That includes his goals — like going a step further in the postseason than he and the Knicks went last season.
“We need to forget what happened these past five games and understand tomorrow is going to be different," Brunson said. "They’re going to be ready to go. The crowd is going to be into it. And for us there are going to be things where we just have to focus on sticking together. Things may not go our way but it’s how you respond to certain things and making sure we stay together no matter what.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.