That Dude

Jalen Brunson has played fewer than 200 regular season games since arriving in New York and has already established himself as an All-Time Knickerbocker.

Final Score: Knicks 124 - Rockets 118
Record: 33-17

This one had the feel and intensity of a playoff game. As Mike Brenn noted on the broadcast, both teams were throwing haymakers at each other in the fourth quarter. And in such showdowns, which often devolve into halfcourt slugfests, there are very few players on the planet you'd rather have on your side than Jalen Brunson.

As he has proved time and again in the postseason, Brunson has a unique ability to get big buckets in big spots in big games.

On Monday night, vs. a relentless Rockets squad, the Knicks were trailing by eight points, 99-91, in the final frame when JB checked back in to save the day.

Over the final six minutes of regulation, the Brunson Burner was lit, and it didn't cool off until after the final buzzer sounded. We've seen some virtuoso performances from The Captain in the Clutch, but that was one for the books.

Here are the stats from the final six minutes of the fourth quarter last night:
Jalen Brunson:
17 points and 2 assists
5-of-5 shooting

The entire Rockets team combined:
15 points and 3 assists
4-of-14 shooting

Yes, JB scored 17 points on 5 FG attempts in the final 6 minutes of a close win.
5-of-5 from the floor
1-of-1 from downtown
6-of-6 from the FT line
1 win
1A

Here are each of Brunson's final five field goals.

Four different Rockets took a crack at defending him. None of them succeed.

As evidenced above, despite being the shortest player on the floor, JB is unafraid to drive into the heart of the defense and finish at the rim. This season, he is one of only three players in the NBA to score more than 300 points and shoot over 50% in the paint (non-restricted area). The other two players in this club are seven-foot centers Nikola Jokic and Jaren Jackson Jr.

Brunson finished Monday's victory over Houston with 42 points (14-of-27 FGs, 13-of-14 FTs), six rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, and one 3-pointer.

Remarkably, it was already the 18th time Brunson has poured in 40+ points, breaking a tie with Carmelo Anthony for the third-most such game in franchise history. He now trails only Patrick Ewing (30 such games) and Bernard King (23).

It was also JB's 70th 30-point game, which pushed him past Julius Randle into the top five among all Knicks.

Last but not least, it was the 12th time Brunson scored at least 30 points and dished out at least 10 assists in the same contest, passing Richie Guerin for the most 30/10 games in the franchise's history.

Brunson has played fewer than 200 regular season games since arriving in New York and has already established himself as an All-Time Knickerbocker.

There is only one thing left to do (as The Captain himself will tell you): Wing a ring and bring a banner to MSG for the first time in 50+ years.

Other Takeaways and Knicks Notes:

🏀 While Brunson stole the show Monday night, Mikal Bridges also deserves a ton of praise. Bridges again reached the 20-point plateau, shooting 9-of-18 from the field en route to 22 points, three rebounds, four assists, one steal, two blocks, and two 3-pointers in 39 minutes.

However, those well-rounded numbers don't tell the whole story. With both Alperen Sengun (calf) and Fred VanVleet (ankle) sidelined, the Rockets had to lean on their leading scorer, Jalen Green, even more than usual. Unfortunately for Green, he spent the evening locked up in Mikal Jail. Green was 9-of-22 from the floor, including 1-of-8 from downtown, and still managed to find time to commit six turnovers.

"The thing I love about Mikal, a guy can score (on him), but he's gonna come back," Thibs said after the win. "Do it over and over. Never gets discouraged. Sometimes, we fall short––but not from lack of effort… His willpower to do it over and over is special. And we need that."

Remarkably, Bridges posted a plus/minus of +29 in a game that NY won by just six. (Green was -22 in 36 minutes).

🏀 Of course Josh Hart did Josh Hart things in a win, stuffing the stat sheet with 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block. It was Hart's 32nd game with at least five points and five boards this season. The only players with more such games are LeBron, Jokic and Cade Cunningham.

🏀 Karl-Anthony Towns' struggles continued Monday night. His final stat line was solid (22 points, nine rebounds, two assists in 39 minutes), but he missed 11 of his 20 FG attempts and three of his four triple tries.

We now have a decent seven-game sample size since KAT returned to action after injuring his thumb, and the numbers are not pretty.

During this stretch, KAT is averaging 18.1 points and 0.7 made three-pointers while shooting 43.5% from the floor and 20% from behind the arc.

Those stats stand in stark contrast to his incredible efficiency and production prior to jamming his thumb into the backboard on a dunk attempt on January 13th.

Over his first 37 games this season, KAT averaged 25.4 points, 14.0 rebounds, and 2.1 made three-pointers while shooting 55.4% from the floor and 44.9% from the 3PT range.

Would it make sense to sit him down for a bit and let his thumb heal?

🏀 OG Anunoby missed his first game of the season Monday night after injuring his right foot in Saturday's loss to the Lakers. Encouragingly, head coach Tom Thibodeau said OG is dealing with only a "mild sprain."

Yet, forgive Knicks fans if they don't feel overly confident in this vague description, as New York has never been forthcoming regarding ailments.

"You deal with the reality of it," Thibodeau said. "It's good that it's a mild sprain. Just work your way through the treatment and get ready to go. … Next guy get in there and get the job done."

After Tuesday's game against Toronto, the Knicks don't play again until Saturday night. Thus, we have to assume OG will miss at least one more contest. Even if he was 100% healthy, he could use the rest.

🏀 Precious Achiuwa started in place of OG on Monday and finished with seven points (2-of-3 FGs, 3-of-4 FTs), nine rebounds, and two steals in 34 minutes. He had some solid moments on the defensive end, but the Knicks lack spacing on the offensive end with Precious and Hart simultaneously on the floor.

Consequently, seeing Deuce McBride play the entire fourth quarter vs. Houston was unsurprising.

McBride's overall numbers don't jump off the page (7/1/1 in 26 minutes), but his defensive contributions and ability to stretch the floor (even if he isn't taking/making shots) are invaluable with OG sidelined.

In the 48 total minutes (99 possessions), the five-man lineup of Deuce alongside NY's other four starters has posted a Net Rating of +17.2 this season.

Still, Precious with those other four has also been solid: +13.4 in 50 minutes of action.

It depends on whether Thibs wants/needs to emphasize offense or defense.

🏀 Ariel Hukporti saw some first-half minutes when KAT got into foul trouble. The German rookie was active defensively (he had a nice block on Steven Adams, which got the Garden crowd going) but was too handsy and picked up four fouls in just eight minutes. I'd still like to see Hukporti continue to get run so he can adjust to the pace of NBA play. With his energy and athleticism, he'll find ways to contribute.

🏀 When Cam Payne runs cold, he's frigid. Over the Knicks past six contests, Payne is shooting under 28% from the floor and under 15% from downtown. #FreeTyler

🏀 Most 40-point games since the start of last season (playoffs and regular season combined):
1. Jalen Brunson: 19
2. Luka Doncic: 15
3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 13
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo: 13
5. Nikola Jokic: 10

Seems pretty good?

🏀 Mitchell Robinson posted a video on social media on Monday morning saying he was meeting with doctors that afternoon. Then, around 3 pm, he stated he got "great news."

Sure enough, before the Rockets game, Thibs told reporters that Mitch Rob has progressed to being cleared for contact.

"The next step will be to start taking contact in practice," Thibodeau said. "Obviously, there are a number of steps for him to go through, so the next step is the contact part of practice, just get going with that."

🏀Speaking of the brittle big man, The Athletic's James Edwards is reporting this morning that:

"League sources told The Athletic that the Knicks are open to moving Robinson. However, several teams have expressed concerns about his health moving forward. New York, to this point, has shown no interest in attaching assets to get off Robinson, league sources say. A healthy Robinson would bring back a solid return for New York. Him being healthy is a big part of the problem and why the Knicks appear to be a bit jammed up at this deadline."

Over the weekend, after LA stole Luka from the Mavs, Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo! Sports said on his podcast, "The Lakers are looking for a big man, and Mitchell Robinson from the New York Knicks is one of the bigs they are targeting. That's what I'm hearing in the aftermath so far, after that absolutely nuts Lakers-Mavericks-Jazz trade that happened in the wee hours on Saturday into Sunday."

🏀 One note on the LA blockbuster: It's incredible how that franchise continues to find ways to get superstars on their roster.

The Lakers had George Mikan from 1948 through 1956

The Lakers had Elgin Baylor from 1958 through 1972

The Lakers had Jerry West from 1960 through 1974

The Lakers had Wilt Chamberlain from 1968 through 1974

The Lakers Gail Goodrich from 1970 through 1976

The Lakers had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from 1976 through 1989

The Lakers had Magic Johnson from 1979 through 1991

The Lakers had James Worthy from 1982 through 1994

The Lakers had Shaquille O'Neal from 1996 thru 2004

The Lakers had Pau Gasol from 2007 through 2014

The Lakers had Kobe Bryant from 1996 through 2016

The Lakers have had LeBron James since 2018

The Lakers will have Luka Doncic from 2025 - ??

In 74 of the 77 years the Lakers franchise has existed, LA has had AT LEAST one (often multiple) Top 50 Players of All Time on their roster.

In 50 of the last 55 years, they've had AT LEAST one, and often multiple Top-10 players of All-Time on their roster (Wilt, Kareem, Magic, Shaq, Kobe, LeBron)

And they just traded for a 25-year-old Luka Doncic.

🏀 Some other trade buzz to pass along. Multiple outlets have reported the Knicks are one of many teams that have checked in on Philly forward Guerschon Yabusele. Per SNY's Ian Begley, "The Sixers aren't necessarily looking to move Yabusele, who is having a strong season (10.4 pts, 5.5 rebs, two assists per game; shooting 39% on 3s)... PHI's asking price for Yabusele is unknown but, again, they don't want to move Yabusele. If the Knicks traded for Yabusele, he could certainly help them along the front line. He has had to play center for the Sixers amid a rash of injuries. Yabusele's 3-point shooting would also benefit a Knick team that wants to keep the floor spread on offense."

Dancing Bear would be a solid addition, but don't expect Philly to help the Knicks fortify their frontcourt.

🏀 The Chicago Bulls waived forward Torrey Craig and guard Chris Duarte on Monday, as Chicago had to clear two roster spots after they acquired Tre Jones, Zach Collins and Kevin Huerter as part of the three-team swap that sent De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs and Zach LaVine to the Kings.

Craig and Duarte (whom the Knicks targeted in the 2021 draft) are expected to pass through waivers and hit the buyout market. Both could be on the Knicks' radar if they don't trade for a wing by Thursday.

🏀 Next Up:
Knicks in Toronto Tuesday night (7:30 tip)

Although the Raps are just 16-33 on the season, they have played much better lately, now that they are finally healthy, winning five of their past six games. They have also won five of their past six contests at home, including victories over the Celtics, Warriors, Magic and Clippers.

Chris Boucher (a big man reportedly on the trade block) and Bruce Brown are listed as questionable for tonight's matchup. They are the only two rotation players listed on the Raps injury report.