Avoiding a 19-point choke to Philadelphia, the Knicks continue to prevent big second-half blown leads.
Last night at the World’s Most Famous Arena, the Knicks took a 19-point lead late in the second quarter against the rival Philadelphia 76ers.
Philly punched back with an 8-0 run, but the Knicks led by 16 at the half.
Despite that, the Sixers stormed back with great defense and Tyrese Maxey deciding not to shoot tour dates to take a four-point lead with just 2:42 to play.
At that point, Jalen Brunson transformed into his alter ego, Captain Crunch Time, and sank the stumbling Sixers with a personal 9-0 run.
While we all collectively exhaled at the Knicks barely avoiding an embarrassing choke against a team that had just got destroyed by the Bulls, the Knicks kept up a little-known streak that, while some can’t believe it, makes sense if you remember back at some potential blown leads.
The Knicks are, as of today, the only team not to have blown a 15-point second-half lead since the beginning of last season. They have played 65 games in that span where they’ve taken such a lead, have relinquished it in a few, but have won all of them. The only other team to have a streak dating back to 2023 is the Phoenix Suns, who blew a 20-point lead to the Spurs on Halloween 2023.
If you’re curious, the last blown 15+ point second-half lead came in Game 82 of the 2022-23 season when a team led by Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, and Quentin Grimes blew a 16-point lead in the third quarter against… George Hill?
I found this stat back in December when someone tweeted that the Warriors had blown seven such leads in this time frame, and the Knicks had blown zero. After the narrow escape against Atlanta earlier this month, I did my own research.
Blown leads are a virus in the modern NBA. Ten teams have blown a 15-point lead in the second half this month alone. Twenty-one have blown one this season. Only one hasn’t since the 2022-23 season: your New York Knicks.
It is a stark change from what we have known as Knicks fans.
Take the 2021-22 season, the only losing one in the Tom Thibodeau era.
In February 2022, the Knicks choked three 20+ point leads.
On February 5, they led 68-47 against LeBron James and the Lakers in the first half, carrying a 71-56 lead into the break. They proceeded to score just 13 points in the third to blow the lead, rally back on a terrific final minute by RJ Barrett, and lose in overtime after proceeding to shoot 2-for-9 in the extra period.
Just one week later, the Knicks erupted out to a 23-point lead in the third quarter against Portland, 82-59. They would be outscored 53-21 in the final 17 minutes against a Dame-less Blazers team with future fan-favorite Josh Hart scoring 23 points for Portland.
Just four days after that, the most disastrous collapse in Knicks history came against the shorthanded rival Nets without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Against a team starting Andre Drummond, Seth Curry, and James Johnson, the Knicks took a 28-point lead in the first half and led 65-44 at halftime. Cam Thomas, then a little-known rookie, made seven shots in a fourth-quarter takeover as the Nets rallied back to beat an effectively dead Knicks team in shocking fashion.
Even in April, with the Knicks eliminated, they got out to a 71-50 lead against a healthy Nets team despite starting Jericho Sims and Obi Toppin. Of course, the Knicks were outscored 60-27 in the last 23 minutes. Four massive blown leads in two months.
That was the most recent blown 20-point second-half lead. The Knicks did blow a 23-point game in an infamous November 2022 game against Atlanta, but the chokes got much less frequent after 2021-22. Why is that? A certain someone became a Knick that offseason.
Blown leads are spawned from bad leadership. Sometimes a team gets hot and you get cold. It happens. But blowing leads repeatedly in a short period of time is leadership. You need someone to calm the troops down when the walls seem to be closing in. A coach can definitely help, but they can’t lead by example.
I respect Julius Randle and everything he did in his time here, but he wasn’t a leader. His erratic play at times contributed to the chokes.
Jalen Brunson is the epitome of cool, calm, and collected. He’s the captain for a reason. Not only is he a calming presence on the court, but he’ll personally ensure the game doesn’t get away from them.
Brunson became the team’s unofficial leader at some point last season, claiming it fully after Randle separated his shoulder in January 2024. From that point, he’s been a constant ship-steadier.
On February 22, 2024, the Knicks had a 23-point lead against the Sixers in Wells Fargo at half dwindle down to six with under nine minutes remaining. Brunson was awful from the field that night, a ghastly 5-for-18. However, his leadership showed with acknowledging his struggles and deferring to others, like this big three by Donte DiVincenzo to get the lead back up to 14:
That April, the Nets stormed back from an 11-point deficit to pull to within one in the fourth. Brunson would score eight points in the final two minutes to stave them off:
This year has seen a few too many close calls, but the constant has been the newly appointed captain.
Late in the third quarter against Cam Thomas (again) and the Nets, the Knicks led by 21. After a ferocious 45-23 run in about 13 minutes, Brooklyn took the lead on the floundering Knicks in mid-November. Captain Crunch Time showed up.
A 16-point blown lead against the Sixers in mid-January needed Brunson to score eight in overtime, including a clutch 3.
In Toronto on February 4th, the Knicks took an 81-58 lead in the third quarter, only for the feisty Raptors to go on a 53-31 run to make it a one-point game with three minutes to go. Toronto never went away until Brunson scored five quick points to call game with 26.3 to go:
Against Atlanta before the All-Star break, another blown lead, another Brunson heroic game-clincher.
Finally, last night in Philly. Three Sixers scored 25. The Knicks’ vibes were already low and were about to crater.
Jalen Brunson scored nine straight. You almost expect him to save us at this point. Mike Breen sure did with a pre-emptive bang.
pic.twitter.com/Ttdk16FP4Y New Mike Breen “Bang” Category: The Prefire
— Jalen Brunson MVP (@BrunshimOG) February 27, 2025
(I just know because I wrote this and put it in the public sphere that the streak will end in the next few weeks. If it does, feel free to call me a jinx).