The Brunson burner.
Jalen Brunson had it going all night long and was the hero in Game 6 as he scored a game-high 40 points, including the eventual game-winner, to lead the New York Knicks to a 116-113 win over the upstart Detroit Pistons to advance to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
With the score knotted at 113 with a little over five seconds remaining, Brunson sank a three-pointer from the top of the arc to give the Knicks the lead. And that was just enough as Pistons guard Malik Beasley could not control a pass thrown by Cade Cunningham and helplessly watched it sail out of bounds on the next possession.
“This is tough,” said Beasley, a Detroit native, who had 16 huge points in the second quarter and finished with 20. “I had a chance to make a three and tie the game. I’m mad about that.”
Detroit’s Cunningham had a great floor game, with 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. However, Cunningham came up empty from behind the arc, going 0 for 8 on 3-pointers and his backcourt mate Tim Hardaway Jr. was not much better, going 1 of 6 from downtown and scored seven points.
“We proved to ourselves and to the rest of the league that what we have in our room can be very successful,” Cunningham said.
It was hit or miss on both ends of the court. Leading by as many as 15 in the second quarter, the Knicks lost their rhythm, and by halftime, the Pistons had a two-point lead, 61-59.
The second half followed much of the same pattern. The Knicks went on several runs and led by 10 or more for much of the third and early in the fourth quarter, only to see the momentum shift in a big way, and with six minutes to go, the game was back on a level playing field.
Embed from Getty ImagesDespite finding themselves down by seven, 112-105, with 2:35 left, the Knicks ended the game on a 11-1 run to secure the victory and clinch the series 4-2 to move onto the Eastern Conference semifinals. It is the third consecutive season the Knicks have reached the second round.
“We did so many things well and gave ourselves a chance,” Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “They just made one more play than we did.”
The final four games of this series were highly contested and decided by three points or less, and it was the perfect time for the Knicks leader on the floor to come up clutch. Brunson saved his best performance for last, with his 40 points, four rebounds and seven assists, in an already strong series.
“Jalen’s shot, what can you say? You know, timely. You know, he’s at his best when his best is needed. He’s done it all year. That’s what makes him special,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said post-game.
When asked about the game-winner, the two-time NBA All-Star credited his teammates and emphasized the trust he built with them and how their work allows him to perform in high-pressure situations.
“It’s all about us staying poised and having our composure. Obviously, we want to have it throughout the game, but it’s most important at the end. We all have each other’s backs, and we all know what we want to do. And I’m just thankful for my teammates and coaches,” Brunson said of his team’s ability to win tight games.
Brunson was particularly complimentary of Mikal Bridges’ impact. The small forward and ‘Iron Man’ notched 25 points and had a team-high 68.8 field goal percentage on the night.
“Obviously, everyone’s going to say a lot about the last shot, but throughout the game, the ups and downs of it, we all stay composed. And the way he (Bridges) played, it was… it was tremendous. So, you got to give a lot of credit to my teammates,” Brunson reflected.
Bridges was excited and thrilled in his on-court interview, discussing how the Knicks came back from the brink with less than three minutes to play: “We’re built for this sh*t. That’s all it is. We built for it. That’s what we kept saying… Stay with it, stay positive and just stay fighting. We built for it.”
New York will take on a difficult task facing the defending champion Boston Celtics in the next round in Boston, starting on Monday.
