Returning Brunson leads way vs. West’s top team
This was the kind of late-season victory not witnessed in some time by a Garden NBA crowd, the kind of March energy the building has reserved almost exclusively for the Big East Tournament for the last decade or so, the kind of win that inspires belief in these Knicks.
This was the Knicks, on course for playoff position, seizing control early and landing the plane against the best-in-the-West Nuggets. This was Jalen Brunson returning with emphasis, sparking the Garden crowd early and leading the Knicks in scoring with 24 points and five assists, the last of which fed Mitchell Robinson on a lob to seal a statement win.
This was a 116-110 victory Saturday afternoon over Denver that revealed something about the mettle of the Knicks, with just 10 games left before playoff basketball. “We just kept fighting,” Brunson said.
Informed after the game that the Knicks (42-30) had their most victories in a decade, Brunson raised an eyebrow. Josh Hart, sitting next to him, jumped in.
“I’m enjoying it,” Hart said. “I think we’re all enjoying it. But we’re not complacent, I think that’s the biggest thing. I think that’s the biggest thing of this team is we have toughness, we have resilience, we have great leadership.”
All of that showed amid a white-knuckle second half on Saturday. A run late in the third quarter, sparked by the Knicks’ bench, turned around a 12-point deficit and got the Garden rocking and rolling. Hart and Immanuel Quickley hit consecutive 3-pointers to tie the score at 88 with 2:53 to go in the third, and it was tied at 91 heading into the fourth. There was still, though, the small matter of the final 12 minutes against a powerhouse Nuggets team.
Hart helped turn that third-quarter momentum into a fourth-quarter lead with a couple of turnovers to spark a run as Denver kept Nikola Jokic on the bench to start the final quarter. When the two-time MVP returned to the game, the Knicks’ lead was a slim 104-100, and that quickly evaporated into a one-point deficit.
In the last four minutes, though, the Knicks showed what they were made of.
Each time Denver punched, the Knicks punched back harder. Finally, with the Knicks up two after a Julius Randle turnaround jumper, they got a stop, and then another stop.
Then it was Brunson — of course — leaning into Jamal Murray to draw a foul. He hit both free throws to bring the lead to 114-110 with 43.1 seconds left as M-V-P chants ringed around The Garden.
“It’s special,” Brunson said. “I’m just happy we won and it’s a great fan base to play in front of and I appreciate it, but got a long way to go before that.”
From there, Jokic missed a 3-pointer, Mitchell Robinson threw down a transition feed from Brunson and the building exploded in cheers. Ballgame.
“Fourth quarter, we were at our best,” coach Tom Thibodeau said of the final 12 minutes, in which the Knicks held Denver to just 19 points. “It was a number of people doing a lot of things well. … We played tough and giving up 19 points in the fourth quarter against an explosive team — they’re a great offensive team, great — that was solid.”
Yes, the Nuggets were playing for the second time in three days and will play again Sunday at the Nets, and it showed, especially early in the game. And yes, what matters most for the Knicks is yet to come. Still, this was a game worth enjoying, particularly due to Brunson’s seamless return from what he called a bone bruise in his left foot.
After going through warmups and being declared ready to go, Brunson keyed a 13-4 run to start the game, hitting the first shot of the match, a 3-pointer, then nailing another pull-up triple.
By the time he came out of the game with 3:05 to go in the first quarter, Brunson had 16 points and there was zero question left about his health. He got to the rim, created off the dribble and moved through his bag of tricks with gusto.
“Everything was going according to plan and I didn’t feel anything,” Brunson said, “so I just kept going and playing.”
At the end of the day, that may prove more important for the Knicks than any result could have been on Saturday.
That is not to diminish the importance of a win.
Especially one that can make believers.