Knicks fans can take heart in Jalen Brunson's effort against Nets
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson gestures after sinking a three-point basket against the Nets in the second half of an NBA game at Madison Square Garden on Friday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
It doesn’t matter that Knicks fans have seen it before.
It doesn’t matter that fans are used to seeing Jalen Brunson perform magic in the final seconds of a game. It doesn’t matter that they are accustomed to seeing him put his team on his back and carry it across the finish line.
What Brunson did by hitting the game-winning shot Friday night in the first of the Knicks' two games against the Nets is exactly what fans have needed to see from their team’s captain as the reconfigured Knicks go through some early-season growing pains.
Two days after having a potential game-winner rim in and out in a one-point loss to the Bulls, Brunson sank a three-pointer with six seconds left to give the Knicks a 124-122 win over the Nets at Madison Square Garden, avoiding what would have been an embarrassing collapse.
The juxtaposition of the big miss and the big make in consecutive games perfectly captured the never-give-up ethos of the Brunson-led team that overachieved last season. It was a good sign for Knicks fans to witness that again this season.
“We had the emotion of the last game and that disappointment, and to bounce back like we did tonight to find a way to win at the end speaks volumes to who Jalen is, to have the resolve to take that shot and make that shot,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “To have the courage to do it again and have his teammates looking for him says a lot about the team.”
With the addition of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, the Knicks were projected by almost everyone to be contenders this season. The early going, however, has been rough. The Knicks have been furiously treading water without making much headway, and they headed into Sunday night’s game against the Nets with a 6-6 record.
What Knicks fans were hoping for is that they also headed into the game with a bit more confidence after seeing their leader step up and save a game in which they were playing without Towns, their leading scorer, and Deuce McBride, their top player off the bench.
Brunson had a near-MVP season in 2023-24, and the hope at the start of this season was that he would continue where he left off. Instead, he got off to a slow start as the Knicks incorporated two new starters.
Friday’s game was by far his best of the season. His game-winner gave him a season-high 37 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, and he made 60% of his shots from the field. He also finished with seven assists, the 24th time in his Knicks career that he has had at least 35 points with at least five assists.
Brunson entered Sunday's game averaging 25.3 points and 6.6 assists while shooting 47.6% from the field and 37.7% from three-point range in 12 games.
His three-pointer, followed by Mikal Bridges’ block of Dennis Schroder's driving layup, saved the Knicks from the kind of loss that would have been incredibly demoralizing, given that they had led by 21 late in the third quarter and 18 entering the fourth quarter.
After the win, Brunson posted on Instagram a photo of his reaction after making the shot along with a Statue of Liberty emoji, as if to indicate that the Knicks had won this battle of New York teams.
Of course, the Knicks are a team that wants to win more than the battle of New York. This is a team built to win now, a team built to take advantage of the fact that the 28-year-old Brunson is in the prime of his career but plays a put-it-all-on-the-floor style of basketball that could limit their window to make a run at the Celtics and other elite teams.
The Knicks are a team that is finding its way and trying to figure out where all the new pieces fit. But when Brunson hits shots the way he did on Friday night, it gives everyone — from players to fans — some confidence that they can get back to the exciting kind of basketball they played last season.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.