Jalen Brunson Reprises Role as San Antonio 'Monster' With Knicks
Remember the Alamo ... and Jalen Brunson.
In all seriousness, adding Brunson's name would be an inappropriate amendment to the unofficial motto of San Antonio. A basketball game, of course, is far removed from the heavy impact of war, no matter how much the local Spurs have brought to the city in their five decades on professional hardwood. Also, even if the Brunson caveat was indeed added, the Spurs don't appear to be heeding the warning.
While Brunson is new to the "takeover" scene, one where he can be a reliable top option for an NBA team, he always seemed to do his best work against San Antonio, appropriately doing so as a member of the Dallas Mavericks. While his success against the Spurs was far from the primary reason why the New York Knicks offered him a $104 million contract last offseason, it certainly came in handy on Wednesday night.
Brunson, appropriately enough, was the energizer behind a 117-114 Knicks victory in the Spurs' annual visit to Madison Square Garden, which played host to the finest night of his scoring career to date. His impact went beyond his simple 38 points, (a career-best in the regular season) as he came up particularly big in the end: be it through earning the points himself or dishing the ball off, Brunson was responsible for all but one of the Knicks' final 15 points on Wednesday night.
In doing so, Brunson fulfilled a pregame prophecy from longtime Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, whose pregame prophecy came to light in the scariest way possible.
"I want them to recognize that Brunson will be on the floor tonight. He wasn't there last time. He's a monster," Popovich said in his comments before tip-off, per SNY. "He has such a toughness about him, high basketball IQ. He really tests your discipline. He’s also unselfish, he shoots it. Concentrating on him is pretty important.”
Popovich, at the helm of the Spurs for 27 of their 50 years of existence, hasn't made many recurring on-court enemies despite his longevity. Brunson has been a rare exception in only five seasons on the floor: after last night's win, he's now 9-5 against San Antonio in 14 meetings and his 16.6-point scoring average against them is his best against a Western Conference opponent.
Unlike Michael Jordan, however, Brunson doesn't seem to take things personally, happy to earn a win against anyone rather than an old enemy.
"I could have 38 or I could have three points, if we win that’s all I really care about,” Brunson said, per the New York Post. “That’s my goal, my mindset and it’s the mindset of this team that we’ve got to keep it going. It does feel good with a win.”
Thursday's game was the latest example of Brunson living up to his big contract earned after taking over the early stages of the Mavericks' surprising run to the most recent Western Conference Finals. The Knicks (21-18) have won the past two games with Brunson back in the lineup after a three-game, medically-induced absence due to a hip injury sustained on Christmas Day against Philadelphia. Brunson previously put in 24 points in his return to action on Monday, which featured a 102-83 triumph over the Phoenix Suns.
Combined with a Brunson-free, New Year's Eve win over the reeling Houston Rockets, New York has moved back into the Eastern Conference's top six playoff spots, holding a tiebreaker with the Indiana Pacers, whom they'll welcome to the Garden next Wednesday night.
In the meantime, the Knicks will head north for a brief visit to Canada, as they're set to battle the Toronto Raptors on Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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