Brunson and the Knicks Make a Statement in Cleveland

Josh Hart is the ultimate glue guy on a winning team. If the Knicks win a playoff series this spring, that series will have Hart's fingerprints all over it.

The Knicks (playing without their leading scorer) poured 130 points on the road against the Cavs (the team with the No. 1 ranked defense in the NBA). Jalen Brunson (arguably the best free agent acquisition in franchise history) led the way, exploding for a career-high 48 points.

Yet, I thought it was a somewhat innocuous play on the defensive end in Friday night's 130-118 victory over the Cavs that epitomized this player, this win, and this season.

With just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter and the Knicks holding onto a four-point lead, Cleveland grabbed a rebound and forward Cedi Osman came rushing up the court in transition. In the middle of the best offensive game of his basketball life, Jalen Brunson diagnoses the action, sprints to the dotted line, and prepares himself to take the charge. Osman crashes into Brunson (with far more force than the dude who hit Gwyneth Paltrow on the ski slopes), nailing the Knicks point guard in the chin with his elbow. The ref whistles the offensive foul charge, Brunson checks his mouth to ensure all his teeth are still in place, and New York regains possession. 

On the next play, Isaiah Hartenstein delivers a dime to Josh Hart, and the Knicks go up by seven points. 

New York would never relinquish the lead, going on to secure an immensely important victory, which reduced the Knicks' magic number to clinch a playoff berth to just one. 

This was a "TEAM win" in the truest sense, and we'll talk about the many contributors, and how every Knicks that checked in found ways to chip in; but, first, back to Brunson, who pitched a near-perfect game.

When the final buzzer sounded, Brunson had not only racked up the aforementioned 48 points on 18-of-32 shooting, but also dished out nine assists (while committing only two turnovers), grabbed four boards and knocked down seven three-pointers. He became the first player in franchise history to amass at least 48 points, nine dimes and seven treys in a single game. JB is just the seventh player in league history to tally these totals while committing two or fewer turnovers. 

We've seen Brunson up close for five months now, and you'd think we'd be prepared to see him excel, yet somehow he continues to raise the bar higher and higher and higher. 

"You guys have seen it all year," coach Tom Thibodeau said after Friday's victory. "I think there's nothing that he does that surprises you, and it's a testament to how tough-minded he is. He's always so mentally tough, particularly when he has adversity. He's nicked up a little bit, but he's a machine. He just keeps going. And I think that's the best leadership you could have. The things that you do each and every day. It's not phony; it's not fake. It's not disingenuous. That's who he is. He's authentic. He cares about the team, and he cares about winning."

The charge Brunson drew in the third quarter was his 25th of the season. He ranks third in the league and tied for first among all Eastern Conference players in this category. NBA.com tracking data dates back to 2015, and Brunson is the first player ever to average more than 20 points and six assists per game in a season in which he's also drawn 25+ charges. As an aside, Brunson also ranks in the NBA in contested 3-point shots. 

Brunson isn't blessed with the explosive athleticism of some of the league's other dynamic scorers. He can't rely on other-worldly quickness to fly into passing lanes or jump over opponents to secure rebounds. Brunson has to find other ways to impact winning. And that's precisely what he's done since establishing himself as an All-American in high school. The other thing Brunson has done at every stage of his basketball career, from Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, to Villanova to Dallas, is win. 

A lot of players talk about doing the little things to help their teams win. Brunson does them. A lot of star players aren't willing to throw their bodies in front of bigger, stronger opponents charging down the lane with a head of steam. Brunson isn't one of them. 

If you are looking for a snapshot to illustrate just how valuable this man is, consider this: The Dallas Mavericks, who advanced to the Western Conference Finals last year, are three games under .500 and are currently 11th in the West (outside of the play-in picture). The Knicks, who finished 11th in the East and won 37 games last season, are 12 games above .500 and fifth in the East at the moment. 

Which one player do you think is most responsible for the divergent directions of both franchises?  

What a player. What a TEAM. What a season.

See you in a couple of weeks, Cleveland. 

About Last Night:

🏀 Again, as much as Friday's win was about Brunson's singular brilliance, it was also a testament to the power of collective contributions. Josh Hart, as always, did Josh Hart things. It really is a joy to watch this guy play basketball every night. He accounted for 11 points (on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting) and seven rebounds, but, as always, the box score doesn't come close to capturing his impact on this game. Just as Brunson's charge may have flown under the radar, Hart drew a HUGE charge on Donovan Mitchell in the second quarter. 

Mitchell started the game ON FIRE. He hit his first eight shots and finished the first quarter with 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting. Quentin Grimes actually did a decent job defensively, but Mitchell was just in a zone. When Donovan checked back into the game in the second quarter, Hart took a crack at him. With 3:33 remaining in the half, Hart jumped in front of Mitchell and drew a charge. It was Donovan's third foul, forcing him to the bench for the rest of the quarter. Mitchell has just three points on 1-of-3 shooting in the second stanza. 

Hart is the ultimate glue guy on a winning team. If the Knicks win a playoff series this spring, that series will have Josh Hart's fingerprints all over it.

🏀 Another member of the bench mob that has been critical to New York's recent success has been Isaiah Hartenstein, who stuffed the stat sheet with five points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks vs. the Cavs. Once again, he played the entire fourth quarter and had two big blocks in the final frame.

One benefit of being forced to play with Randle (more on him in a moment) is that the Knicks pushed the pace far more frequently and also had more space to work with on the offensive end. 

It has taken 70 games or so, but the team is finally allowing iHart to operate as a facilitator from the high post. He made two breathtaking passes last night.

On this first assist, he hits a cutting Hart:

A few minutes later, he drops this gorgeous dime to Deuce McBride:

🏀 The Knicks had seven players in double-figures in the contest. Grimes scored 14 points and knocked down three more three-pointers. Over the Knicks' last seven games, Grimes is 28-of-53 (52.8%) from behind the arc… RJ Barrett was just 6-of-17 from the floor vs. Cleveland but grabbed seven boards and was +10, the highest +/- among all ten starters in the game… Immanuel Quickley had a rare off-shooting night (5-of-16) but finished with 14/4/4 and was a game-high +18 in 30 minutes… Deuce did what he was asked to do - disrupt the game defensively - and was +11 in 10 mins… Mitchell Robinson had his best all-around game in a while, racking up 10 points, 14 boards (including nine on the offensive end), two steals and two blocks. Mitch Rob had looked far less than 100% since banging his knee last week, but appeared to have his bounce back last night, which is a very encouraging sign.

🏀 And, just as late-game defense keyed New York's two victories earlier in the week, it was the difference Friday night as well. In the fourth quarters of their three prior losses (vs. Minnesota, Miami and Orlando), Knicks opponents shoot over 62% from the floor and a mind-boggling 76.2% from downtown. In their three wins this week (vs. Houston, Miami and Cleveland),  NY opponents shot 48% from the field and 36% from deep. 

🏀 The bad news the Knicks have dealt with this week is the ankle injury sustained by Julius Randle. The team announced Thursday that Randle would be sidelined for at least two weeks after spraining his left ankle in Wednesday's win over Miami. We know that Julius will miss at least the rest of the regular season, and his availability for Game 1 of the playoffs is very much up in the air. Two weeks from Thursday is April 13th, a mere two days before the 2023 postseason. It would be foolish to speculate at this point; we'll just have to wait for further updates. Thibodeau told reporters that Randle was in good spirits, adding, "He's done all he can to prepare himself to play in every game, which is a credit to him. He doesn't miss practice. He doesn't miss games. I'm actually surprised it doesn't happen more than it does," 

🏀 Obi Toppin started at power forward in place of Randle on Friday and finished with 12 points (5-of-7 FGs), one rebound, one assist, and two 3-pointers in 19 minutes. Due to how well the reserves performed, Toppin didn't step foot on the floor in the second or fourth quarters. We'll see if that's the case going forward. Toppin played extremely well stepping in for Randle last April, and New York will need him to close out the regular season with some positive momentum. 

🏀 Obi and RJ got into a heated exchange on the bench in the third quarter but quickly buried the hatchet when they walked onto the floor. The two also hugged each other when the media entered the locker room postgame to confirm there was no lingering animosity. "This is my brother," Toppin said. "We're good." When asked about the dustup, Thibs replied: "The cameras are everywhere, and it probably happens more than people realize. It was the heat of the moment. Sometimes, there is a difference of opinion, but those guys are fine with each other. These things happen."

🏀 The Knicks will be back in action Sunday evening when they host the Wizards. Because their magic number to clinch a playoff spot is one, they could lock up a top-6 seed with a victory. 

🏀 Dating back to early November, over the last 17 games they Knicks have played against the Celtics, Sixers, Cavs, Nets and Heat (the two thru seven seeds, respectively, in the East), New York is 13-4.

🏀 One last bit of news from late last night: The NBA and National Basketball Players Association agreed on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement, which is fantastic news for hoop heads everywhere. Credit to both sides for ironing out a deal with no unnecessary drama. 

Some of the key amendments in the new CBA, per Shams Charania of The Athletic: 

• NBA and NBPA have agreed to a minimum number of games played – 65 games – for players to be eligible to win major individual league awards such as MVP

• A second tax apron that, when reached, will eliminate a team's taxpayer mid-level exception

• A third two-way contract via cap exception

• Veteran extension limits will increase from 120 percent to 140 percent

That last provision - increasing veteran extensions - could be very important for New York. It means there is now a far greater likelihood that the Knicks will be able to extend Josh Hart this offseason, as opposed to having him opt out of his current contract and hoping to re-sign him as an unrestricted free agent. It also means they may be able to ink Brunson and Randle to extensions before their contracts expire. More on that in the months ahead… 

🏀 Enjoy your weekend, everybody!!