The New York Knicks' 22-point comeback in Game 1 was executed by Jalen Brunson, who walked the Cleveland Cavaliers down in crunch time to save the night. The Cavaliers maintained after the game that they'd continue to trust James Harden as an isolation defender, but started off Game 2 with a quick pivot.
Kenny Atkinson sent a second defender to the ball, when Brunson had it, to help Harden out. And the Knicks' Captain, whose 38 points won Tuesday night's game, decided to shift gears.
Brunson went into playmaking mode, recording a career-high 14 assists to complement his 19 points. He made just one of his seven 3-point attempts, but assisted on 33 Knick points over the course of the game. New York has enough talent to make Cleveland pick their poison. Brunson is clearly willing to serve it to them however they decide they want it.
Brunson controls Game 2 vs. Cavaliers with pristine passing
The narrative that Brunson is detrimentally ball dominant has followed him, and the Knicks, since they decided to entrust him as their primary scorer and offensive engine. Mike Brown's system has aimed to create more opportunities for him off of the ball, to capitalize on his scoring ability without tiring him out before crunch time.
The new-look offense, featuring Karl-Anthony Towns as the team's primary playmaker from the top of the key, helped the Knicks skate by both the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers with relative ease. But the Cavaliers made clear early in Game 1 that Evan Mobley was a different kind of defender than anyone the Hawks or Sixers had to offer.
Towns spent plenty of time holding the ball at the top of the key, with none of his teammates able to create any separation, before Brunson took the game over as a scorer.
New York has won plenty of games on the back of Brunson's ability to put the ball in the basket. Cleveland decided they were going to make the Knicks' other players beat them in Game 2. And Brunson was able to set his teammates up for the kind of success that had Brown clearing his bench with over a minute left in the fourth quarter.
Brunson's 2-point first half was just the first step to playmaking clinic
Fans at Madison Square Garden, or following the game anywhere else, were likely shocked to see Brunson finish the first half with just two points. The guard scored the Knicks' opening bucket – and didn't put the ball back into the basket in the rest of his 19 first-half minutes.
After shooting just 1-6 in the first two quarters, though, Brunson corrected his course in the third. The guard dropped seven points, six assists, and didn't turn the ball over once in 11 minutes while shooting 3-6 from the floor and 1-3 from downtown. And he only needed to play eight minutes in the fourth quarter, during which he really turned it up.
Brunson scored 10 points in the game's final quarter alone, making three of his four shots and adding in three more assists (despite two turnovers). After his first half minutes resulted in a plus-minus of zero, the Knicks won his 19 second-half minutes by 18 points.
And it's in large part because Brunson chewed up their best pivot.
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