Jalen Brunson: Captain Crunchtime

For the past three months, the Knicks’ captain has been one of the most clutch players in all of basketball.

On Thursday night, the Knicks were in a dogfight with the Chicago Bulls in the first game out of the all-star break.

After a sluggish first half which saw both teams attempt to accomplish the seemingly Herculean task of making a three-pointer, both teams caught fire offensively in the second half.

Especially the Bulls. A scorching 11-for-21 in the second half kept them not only in the game but in a position to win it after a stepback triple by Nikola Vucevic off of an inbound pass gave the Bulls a 104-102 lead with 50.3 to go.

With a daunting pair of games ahead (the first of which went extremely badly for the Knicks), losing this one to a mediocre Bulls team would sting.

Before we proceed, let’s take a step back.

It’s November 13th, 2024. The 5-5 Knicks were scuffling into their meeting at MSG against the Bulls. They fell behind by 22 but stormed all the way back to take multiple leads.

Brunson was 1-for-9 in clutch situations, which is specified as the game is within five points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime, entering the final stretch.

He made a pair of massive shots after that, including a go-ahead layup with 4.6 to go.

However, his heroics went up in smoke when Josh Hart swiped the hair of Coby White.

White hit all three free throws. The Knicks were down one with 3.2 to go. Jalen Brunson got the ball on the inbound, was picked up by Patrick Williams, created space, and let it fly. The shot was pure…

Until it wasn’t. Halfway down but it rimmed out.

After a 2-for-4 showing on this night, the Knicks’ captain was now 3-for-12 on the season in the clutch. The Knicks were 5-6.

Two days later, the Brooklyn Nets had the Knicks on the brink in NBA Cup action. The season, although young, felt like it was at a crucial point. Jalen Brunson, now 4-for-14 after making one and missing one earlier in the game, got the ball off the inbound and sized up former teammate Dorian Finney-Smith. Down by one, Brunson fired a three with a chance at redemption from the last game.

Cash money. After a Bridges block, the Knicks got the win they needed to snap out of it.

On Black Friday, the Knicks played an ugly and disgusting NBA Cup game against the Charlotte Hornets. On a day when the eventually victorious Knickerbockers scored 99 points, Brunson scored 31. Eleven of those 31 came in the final five minutes.

He made one.

After another.

After another.

A depleted Hornets team didn’t have the firepower to keep up. Brunson went 3-for-5 from the field and 5-for-7 from the line to close it out. After starting 1-9 and 3-12, Brunson was now up to 8-for-20 (40%).

In a similarly ugly game against the Raptors on December 9th, Brunson got a grenade at the top of the key from Karl-Anthony Towns. Down 3 with 3:03 left, this was looking to be a devastating empty possession, as Brunson had to throw up a prayer with Davion Mitchell in his grill.

Or not. Casual go-ahead four-point play.

After Christmas, the Knicks got caught in another ugly game against the Wizards. In a baffling showing vs a team playing Capture the Flagg, the Knicks trailed almost the entire game.

Down five with a minute to go, Jalen Brunson went off the bounce and drew contact from Justin Champagnie.

And-1. Brunson’s up to 44.

After a stop, Brunson had the ball in his hands again, now with Bilal Coulibaly guarding him. You know how this goes. Make it 46:

In overtime, Brunson scored nine more, including going 5-for-6 from the line. Once again, he helped the Knicks escape a bad trap game loss.

On January 15th, the Knicks fought the Embiid-less Sixers in another grueling affair. He went 2-for-2 in regulation crunch time, including what should’ve been the dagger here:

After Brunson partially contributed to the collapse, he made up for it in overtime. He splashed a triple to go up five in less than a minute, deflating the Sixers’ hopes of a statement win:

In case you haven’t realized, the Knicks have been in a lot of potential trap games this year. On the 21st, the Nets refused to go away and pushed the Knicks to the brink. Who was there for the rescue?

Once again, Jalen Marquis Brunson.

In a game that took him 45.5 game minutes to reach double figures, the captain made three consecutive shots to keep the crosstown rivals at bay. He even added a pair of free throws to ice it in the final minute.

This shot is notable in particular. It was his 48th clutch shot of the season. After starting 1-for-9 and 3-for-12, Brunson reached 50% from the field. 24-for-48.

In a crucial game against the Rockets earlier this month, Brunson took over when the team needed him most. While trading buckets with Jalen Green and Amen Thompson, Brunson hit not one.

Not two.

But three consecutive shots.

Not only did he get up to 28-for-53 on the season, but he made four free throws to ice it.

In another trap game north of the border, JB hit another dagger 3 in the exact same spot.

And finally, right before the all-star break, Brunson took it right to All-Defensive First Team lock Dyson Daniels. He nailed two consecutive shots to seemingly ice it in regulation, only for shenanigans to ensue.

Down one in the final 20 seconds, the vibes heading into the break rested on one man’s shoulders. He sized up Daniels, who had frustrated him in the first two meetings. He rocked him to sleep, pulled up from 20, and cashed the eventual game-winning bucket.

And so, finally, we return to Thursday night.

Jalen Brunson, through this point, has been one of the most clutch players in basketball. He had missed two clutch shots in the game and was down to 50.8% from the field. He was 32 for his last 56 (57.1%) and 30 for his last 53.

Only one other player (Nikola Jokic) had attempted 45 shots in the clutch and made over half of them. He’s third in total clutch points. The Knicks have dominated clutch games since that fateful day in November.

Brunson got the rock, sized up Ayo Dosunmu, backed him down, stepped back…

Mike Breen said it best:

“Brunson, fakes, drives, pulls back, jumpshot…”

“…PUTS IT IN!”

“CAPTAIN CRUNCHTIME TIES THE GAME!”

(This message was paid for by the “Jalen Brunson for Clutch Player of the Year” Committee)