Defensive teams are going all out to contain the on-fire Jalen Brunson.
He’s managed to rack up 30 points or more in the last three games, with an eye-catching shooting percentage of 54.2 from the field and 52.0 from beyond the arc.
Since coming back from an ankle injury, Brunson has achieved the 30-point mark six times in just 11 games. It’s impressive, really.
With his rising performance, opposing coaches are increasingly relying on double teams to slow him down, but, oddly enough, it hasn’t thrown him off his game.
During a recent match against the Raptors, Brunson scored 20 of his 35 points in just the first quarter. As those double teams started to roll in, he shifted gears and took on a more playmaking role.
“He was really patient,” commented coach Mike Brown after the game. “He played with both feet, making accurate passes at the right time. When they began to double up on him—whether in pick-and-rolls or other plays—he excelled. Credit also goes to the guys who position themselves well and create space, as they made his decisions much easier.”
Brown also feels the Knicks are beginning to discover their identity as a team.
“We’re getting a clearer picture of who we are,” he noted. “Initially, injuries during the preseason kept me from fully understanding the team. That contributed to our challenges on the road. But as I’ve become more comfortable, it seems to have helped the entire group find their footing.”
On a different note, Jordan Clarkson scored 12 points in that same game, pushing his career total off the bench to 8,283. This achievement places him ahead of Manu Ginobili (8,278) for ninth on the all-time scoring list for bench players since the league started tracking these statistics.
