Knicks' supporting cast finally steps up without Jalen Brunson

Looking back at the Knicks' much-needed win — really, a must-win — over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night, you can point to a number of factors.

Cam Payne stepping into a starting role with Jalen Brunson still rehabilitating and Deuce McBride joining him in street clothes. Tyler Kolek dusting off the cobwebs, stepping into action for the entire second quarter and handing out seven of his eight assists in that 12-minute run. Or simply, the Wizards are the worst team in the NBA and showed it in a number of ways.

But there was something simpler at play in Saturday's 122-103 victory.

Desperation.

The Knicks (44-26) have seemed lost without Brunson. They won three and lost four in the seven games before Saturday. In the locker room in Charlotte on Thursday after the Knicks were run out of the gym by another of the NBA’s worst teams, there was talk about embarrassment, about mental lapses and letdowns.

And to be sure, there were mental lapses Saturday, too. The Knicks allowed the Wizards, who have their eyes on accumulating Ping-Pong balls for the NBA Draft Lottery and a shot at landing Cooper Flagg, to cut a 33-point deficit to four. But on this night, the Knicks found something among the players who had to deliver it.

OG Anunoby got them started with a two-way effort that looked more like a Game 7 postseason stage than a late March meeting with the dregs of the league. Mikal Bridges exploded in the second quarter for 20 of his 27 points to help open the lead. And when the Wizards worked their way back into the game, Karl-Anthony Towns took over until the final minutes, stretching the lead back to a margin that allowed the 19,812 fans at Madison Square Garden to exhale and head to the streets.

It’s understandable that without their captain on the floor, something would be missing, but the Knicks’ front office put together a starting lineup before the season that was supposed to rival any in the NBA. And that means that when one piece is missing, whether it is because of injury or simply a night when it’s not there for  Brunson, one of the other pieces who either cost the franchise a huge contract or a haul in trade pieces has to step up. And this time, they did.

“They’re a good offensive team in terms of the pace. They can make up ground quickly on you,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of the Wizards. “I thought the defense was really good in the first half. The second half, we didn’t play as well defensively. But overall, the rebounding was good. And the activity, forcing turnovers, was huge for us.

“And then we got some really good play from OG and Mikal and KAT, and I thought Josh [Hart’s] rebounding was huge. I thought Cam did a really good job,  and Tyler gave us some great minutes. So that was good to see."

The Knicks have had 40-point scoring nights from Towns, Bridges and Anunoby this season, but since Brunson has been out, no one has really stepped forward to lead, whether it's scoring or simply with the fire on the floor that Brunson brings every night.

Maybe it took the spark from the little-used pieces. Payne had 10 first-quarter points. Kolek, who was brought in as a second-round pick because of his ability to orchestrate an offense, did the simple thing, seeing Bridges with a hot hand and feeding him the ball. In 18 minutes, he threw 42 passes — 10 to Bridges, seven to Towns and six to Anunoby. He found Anunoby for consecutive three-point field goals, then hit Bridges for two more triples. Simple.

Those complementary pieces did their job, but the Knicks need the stars to be stars. It’s the only way to get to the return of Brunson intact, and they need them to fit in as stars when Brunson returns.

The offseason was conducted to match up with the deep talent pools that teams such as Boston, Cleveland and Oklahoma City boast. Brunson needs those pieces to help now and when he returns.

After the loss in Charlotte, Towns dismissed the notion that the Knicks can wait for Brunson to save them.

“We’ve got to get better now,” Towns said. “I told all y’all before, we need to continue to improve every single day so when he comes back, we reintegrate him into the team and we’re a better version than the one he got injured playing with, that he left."

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

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.