Jalen Brunson barely takes a shot and the Knicks are 2-0 in the first round of their playoff series against the 76ers.
Brunson was lucky to hit an outsized 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in the game to begin the winning sequence, but the All-Star guard secured a miraculous 104-101 victory in Game 2 for the Knicks, ending his second straight rough game. Survived shooting night. Monday night at the Garden.
Brunson went 8-of-26 from the field in the Knicks’ Game 1 win on Saturday, but missed 21-of-29 field goal attempts and had a shooting percentage of .291 (55) through two games. It was lowered to 16 (medium).
“The one thing about this team is no one really cares about who’s doing what or who gets the credit for what,” Brunson said. He also made 5 of 6 3-point shots in each of the two games. “We just want to go out and win.
“As I said last time, we can win even if we play badly again, that’s fine with me. Of course, I want to play better, but no matter what the situation is, we all stick together and support each other.” So whatever is working at the moment, we’re going to continue to do it.”
At least Brunson’s only 3-point shot was huge. His shot from the left corner sailed straight over the rim and into the hoop with 27.1 seconds left, pulling the Knicks within two points and helping set up Donte DiVincenzo’s championship game. 14 seconds later.
In addition to DiVincenzo’s late heroics, Josh Hart also had a great game for the second year in a row, posting 21 points and 15 rebounds in 48 minutes.
“They’ve been playing great,” Brunson said of his two former Villanova teammates. “Hopefully we can get to that level one day. But the way they’ve behaved so far, the way they’ve played, their confidence and not getting tired or upset when things weren’t going their way.
“We remain strong, we remain calm and collected. Simply put, we remain united no matter what.”
Brunson also credited Sixers veterans Kelly Oubre Jr. and Nicolas Batum for doing a strong job of leading a defense that swarmed against him, but with the series set to begin Thursday in Philadelphia. He vowed to resolve it before the third race.
“[Batum is] Great defender, you have to give him credit, they’ve done a great job, him, Kelly, whoever it is,” Brunson said. “We have to get better, and we will someday.”
