Knicks can call on 'Captain Clutch' Jalen Brunson to save the day
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) handles the ball against Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane (22) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. Credit: AP/Brandon Dill
MEMPHIS, Tenn.
As Jalen Brunson weaved his way through the Memphis Grizzlies’ defense with the clock ticking down and the Knicks trailing by two, it began to look like a movie fight scene, one defender after another stepping toward Brunson to try to stop him.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins certainly has seen what everyone else has: When the game is on the line, the Knicks rely on the player who has become known as “Captain Clutch.”
This time, as Brunson got past Ja Morant and into the lane, he stumbled momentarily, recovered and — with four Grizzlies surrounding him — fired a pass across the court to OG Anunoby for the game-winning three-point field goal with 4.3 seconds left.
Jenkins and the Grizzlies weren’t wrong, just unaware of what weapon Brunson would wield to break their hearts.
Brunson had hit a long three-pointer 20 seconds earlier, repeating the pattern he has shown more and more in recent days as the Knicks have found themselves in need of late-game heroics.
Brunson hit the overtime game-winner against Atlanta just before heading to San Francisco for his first starting assignment in the All-Star Game. He made the tying shot to send the game to overtime against Chicago after the break and produced an 11-point explosion in the final minutes Wednesday to save the Knicks against Philadelphia.
It’s created a belief for the Knicks, with good reason, that if they can hang close for 47 minutes, Brunson will bail them out.
The Knicks are second only to the Cavaliers in clutch situations (the final five minutes of games within five points). The Knicks are 15-7 in those games, and Brunson leads the NBA in scoring in those moments.
“Confidence and trust from myself, my teammates and coaches,” Brunson said. “Doing whatever it takes to win. It’s as simple as that.”
“I think it’s the mindset,” Josh Hart said. “Obviously his shotmaking, but his playmaking I think is the biggest thing. He made a big three, the next possession he drew two [defenders], got in the lane and found OG wide-open. It’s his playmaking that gives us confidence. We just know if we’re in a close game, he’s one of the few guys in the league . . . just make sure it’s close and then let him go to work.”
So again, you understand why the Grizzlies might have been willing to go all out to try to defend Brunson.
“Look, he’s a big-time shot-maker, but it’s also his teammates, understanding what you have to do,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “It takes five guys to execute to create the shots for him. Then he’s got to make them, which is another element. He’s also got to make the right reads. Like I thought the pass, he didn’t force it. That was the right play and it was a great play. OG, he was right and ready, great shot preparation, and he let it fly.
“That was beautiful, and that’s what it takes.”
It’s hard to explain what it takes to elicit the comment “that was beautiful” from Thibodeau in the moments after a 48-minute exchange of body blows like Friday’s game.
After hitting the three-pointer with 23.9 seconds remaining to give the Knicks a 111-110 lead before Anunoby’s game-winner, Brunson turned toward the bench and animatedly pointed at Thibodeau.
Neither of them was willing to give the reason for the pointing and smiling. But in the days after hearing of Gene Hackman’s death, you could recall his role in “Hoosiers’’ and the fact that the star player — Jimmy Chitwood in the movie; Jalen Brunson in real life — was going to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line no matter what the coach drew up.
“I don’t know what he was doing,” Thibodeau said, laughing. “I’m just happy he made the shot. He’s got tremendous poise under pressure. That’s huge. I think our team does. The more times you’re in those situations, the way you prepare is the way you get confidence.The more times you go through it, the better you’re going to be at it.”
Confidence counts
While Brunson has saved the Knicks so many times, he has maintained a belief in his teammates, and the attention he draws from defenses has created opportunities for others. Brunson’s willingness to trust in his teammates has helped them believe, too.
Anunoby was just 4-for-15 from three-point range since returning from the foot sprain that sidelined him for three weeks, but Brunson entrusted him with the game-winning shot, his fourth three-pointer of the game. Hart, playing through a knee issue that has led to his struggles from outside the arc, also has benefited from that trust.
“It may have something to do with it,” Brunson said of the injuries affecting the shooting for Anunoby and Hart. “I think you’re always trying to find your way back into things. We have the utmost confidence in each other. Regardless of what’s going on, we’ve got to give each other confidence when it comes to stuff like that.”
Mental mentoring
Rick Brunson’s hard-nosed reputation as a player for nine years in the NBA has only been enhanced by videos of him pushing his son Jalen as a child to work harder.
But having fought to earn his spot in the NBA, Rick Brunson also knows the struggle of continuing to believe when the path is hard. He has learned the tough lessons — working, preparing every day and then rarely seeing the floor.
Tyler Kolek has played sparingly for the Knicks since arriving as a second-round pick this season, appearing in 29 games (and only one, for one minute and 34 seconds, in the last 10 games). So Brunson has spoken to Kolek nearly every morning, pushing him to work on his game and, perhaps more important, his mind.
“For sure, he’s been coaching in the league for 15-plus years, played in the NBA for nine years,” Kolek said. “He’s been in my situation. So just taking what I can from people like that and really valuing what he has to say. Because not only has he been through it, but he’s kind of mentored his son through it and mentored countless other players that he’s had, being a coach. It’s definitely been good and helpful, giving me that mentality and helping with my approach.
“So many guys go through it each year. Who can stay with it? Who can stay positive? Who can continue to work? Who can continue to get value out of each and every day is important.”
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.
