Opposing defenses are doing everything they can to slow down the red-hot Jalen Brunson.
He has scored 30 or more points in each of the Knicks’ past three games, shooting 54.2 percent from the field and an incredible 52.0 percent from three-point range.
Since returning from his sprained ankle, he has scored 30 or more points six times in 11 games.
That has led to opposing coaches sending more and more double teams his way. And it didn’t bother him.
Brunson scored 20 of his 35 points in the first quarter of the Knicks’ 117-101 win over the Raptors Tuesday night in Toronto. When the double teams came about, he became more of a distributor.
“He was very patient with it,” coach Mike Brown said after the game. “He played from two feet. He made timely and on-target passes. He was fantastic when they started sending two to him, whether it was to hit them or blitz them in a pick-and-roll. I also have to give a lot of credit to the guy who chases the middle of the floor and the rest of the guys who space the floor the right way, I have to give them a lot of credit too, because they helped Jalen make his decisions easier.”
Brown believes the Knicks are starting to find their identity.
“We’re starting to figure out who we are,” Brown said. “I’ve said this before, early in the season we had a lot of injuries during the preseason, so I didn’t have the good feeling for this team or the good feeling that I needed. And that’s part of the reason why we struggled on the road. It’s a big part of the reason why we struggled on the road to some extent. Once I started to get more comfortable, it helped the group feel more comfortable.”
Jordan Clarkson’s 12 points on Tuesday put him at 8,283 points off the bench in his career, passing Manu Ginobili (8,278) for ninth all-time since the league began keeping that statistic.
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