Jalen Brunson proves he's leader Knicks can turn to when chips are down

 WASHINGTON

The Knicks etched their place in NBA history Saturday when Jalen Brunson’s 55-point night made them the first team ever to have four players score at least 40 points in a game before Jan. 1 — an achievement with an odd set of filters, but still an indication of just what the franchise has built.

But while Brunson joined Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges to create this bit of history, the game showed something far more than the Knicks’ incredible offensive balance. What Brunson did on this night against the Washington Wizards was lift a lifeless squad to victory by doing what was needed, showing that despite the surplus of talent, this is still his team and will go as far as he can drag them.

Brunson didn’t set out to score 50 points. Before the game, he wasn’t even a sure thing to be in uniform. He was nursing a tight right calf wrapped with a heating pad and rode the exercise bike near the bench during the few moments he got off the floor.

It was easy to believe that he would sit this one out against the worst team in the Eastern Conference on the second night of a road back-to-back set.

Instead, he gave the thumbs-up that he was in, and when the Knicks found themselves floundering on defense, slow to defend the three-point line, and being outrun and outhustled by the young Wizards — who were without their top two scorers, Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole — Brunson would not let them fail.

“I mean, we needed it,” Josh Hart said. “This one was a tough one for us. Back-to-back. I felt a little old today. So a lot of us felt the same way. We were a little slow. But he made big shots. That’s why he’s the captain. Find a way to win.”

This was before Hart spent Brunson’s interview session making goat noises behind him, reminding everyone that if he isn’t the greatest of all time, he is the greatest among the talented Knicks roster.

The thing about Brunson is that despite earning MVP talk and All-NBA acclaim last season as he lifted an injury-riddled team to the Eastern Conference semifinals, he would have been content to avoid this bit of history. He had 39 points a week ago and needed only 19 shots to do it. The 31 shots he took Saturday were by far the most he’s taken in a game this season.

But he didn’t go out looking to score. He had only 13 points in the first half, offering no hints that he would post the second-highest-scoring night of his career. But with the game getting away, he provided what was necessary, scoring 19 points in the third quarter, 14 in the fourth — including five in the final 57.2 seconds to force overtime — and nine in the extra session.

That was 42 points in 25:36 after halftime, lifting the Knicks when they needed to be carried.

“It just happened,” Brunson said. “That’s the way the game was flowing. Looked up at the scoreboard and it says 50-something. So that is what it is.”

Brunson hadn’t converted a three-pointer in the previous three games (0-for-12) and was 3-for-11 from beyond the arc Saturday, but he attacked the basket consistently against taller defenders, scoring 28 points in the paint and daring the Wizards to send help.

“I was just reading the game,” he said. “But throughout the game you’re just attacking seams, you’re trying to see where you can be effective. When you have four other guys on the court who space the floor, it’s easy. So it’s a credit to them. I mean, if you do [double-team], I have the utmost confidence in my teammates that they’ll knock down open shots. So whatever the defense is, we’re going to adapt and we’ll find a way . . . I mean, it could be anybody on any given night. It’s just a credit to the guys who work hard on this team, the confidence, how we feel about each other.”

“That’s the beauty of his game is he can provide whatever the game needs,” Tom Thibodeau said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well from three, but if we need more scoring, he can provide that; if we need more playmaking, someone else has a good matchup, someone else has it going, he’ll search that guy out. I think that the team plays that way. It’s a pretty balanced attack and you have four guys that are all capable of having big scoring nights.”

History would tell you that. But your eyes also will tell you a story: that when the Knicks really need someone to lead them, it is Brunson.

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.