Behind Jalen Brunson's 40 points, the Knicks defeat the Magic 132-120 to advance to the NBA Cup Championship.
LAS VEGAS – There are scant remaining mysteries and issues about these New York Knicks, and few if any will be resolved right away. Such as the ability to win on the road, plant doubt within the heads of other elites in the East, respond fully to a new coach, etc. It’s nothing major, no vivid red flags, but still.
Let it be known, though, that with regards to Jalen Brunson, there are none, nada. On the contrary: There’s a sense of comfort and confidence with this point guard. He now has a chance to lead the Knicks to one NBA trophy; that’ll be awarded Tuesday (8:30 ET, Prime). And he has the swag bag to put them in contention for the trophy in June.
First things first, though. New York will play for a championship — those words haven’t been typed or gushed since 1973 — because Brunson delivered in the NBA Cup Semifinals on Saturday to make a Knicks-flavored Cup Final possible.
He’s made and built for the big stage, be it in the Garden back home, or T-Mobile Arena, site of the Emirates NBA Cup Championship. He has proven as much since joining the Knicks, and for anyone needing updated receipts, he just emphatically finished off the overwhelmed Orlando Magic, who had no answers.
Smart, elusive and bringing plenty of flow, Brunson bounced off Orlando defenders when he wasn’t sliding through them. As a result, they’re going home; meanwhile, Brunson and the Knicks will stretch their Vegas stay a few more days.
Jalen Brunson delivers a clinic in Emirates NBA Cup Semifinals against Magic to help Knicks advance to championship game.
He had 40 points, eight assists. He didn’t have any lapses, and typical for him, he grew stronger and better as the game progressed. Case in point — Brunson and Orlando’s Jalen Suggs each had 25 in the first half. But while Suggs managed just a free throw the rest of the way (to be fair, he’s dealing with a sore groin), Brunson remained steady and kept the Knicks composed and fixated on the goal.
“I always say my confidence comes from my work ethic and how I prepare,” said Brunson. “So as long as that doesn’t change, that doesn’t waver, I just know no matter what, I’m putting my best foot forward and not being afraid to fail.”
This was the fourth straight game of at least 30 points by Brunson and little by little, he’s laying the compelling evidence for major recognition: All-NBA, All-Star and yes, some Kia MVP love. As for that last bit of respect, his biggest cheerleader was bellowing through the bullhorn once again after this latest performance.
“He makes the game easier for everybody,” said Knicks coach Mike Brown. “That’s what MVPs are supposed to do, and he definitely did that tonight. He scored for us when we didn’t have much going with our offensive movement and stuff like that. You have a guy like that that can go get a bucket and he keeps you in the game and gets you leads and at the end of the day, he carries you home.
“It’s beautiful to be able to see him do what he’s more than capable of doing on a national stage like this in an environment like this, so that hopefully you media and the fans out there can continue talking about him as an MVP of this league because that’s exactly what he is.”
The beauty of the Knicks, though, and why they’ll have a decent chance to go home with a trophy, is how teammates seem to fall in place with Brunson. That’s the blueprint according to Brown, to make the Knicks less reliant on Brunson and at the same time, allow him to prosper and his teammates to do what they do best.
That’s what happened in this game, Karl-Anthony Towns enjoyed a fun stretch with buckets, and OG Anunoby also juiced the offense. Towns had 29 points, OG had 24.
Highlights from Karl-Anthony Towns' 29-point game against the Magic.
“I just want to impact winning and I’m happy I was able to do that,” said Towns, who missed just twice in 11 shots and added eight rebounds; the Orlando big men were powerless. “We were able to do what we set out to do.”
And Towns and others offered more than enough defense to keep the Magic quiet. That’s about the only linked message from last year’s coaching staff led by Tom Thibodeau, and this one with Brown, and it has registered with Towns.
“We’re all adjusting and he’s making it as easy as possible for us to do that,” Towns said of Brown. “We’re still learning, but winning games while learning is a testament to the coaching staff and the guys in the locker room, that we’re doing what it takes to win.”
The Magic actually were pests against the Knicks this season, beating them twice, thus creating the air of suspense entering this game. However: Orlando was missing Franz Wagner, their leading scorer, and will be for the next few weeks with a bum ankle. The player who replaced him in the starting lineup, Anthony Black, missed 10 of 15 shots and five of six from deep against the Knicks.
So it all fell together and in place for the Knicks.
Mainly because they had Brunson.
For a franchise desperately thirsty for some summer champagne — such is the case when it has been five decades since the last championship — Brunson is such a relief and injection of hope. He was perhaps a bit more than the Knicks expected when they signed him away from the Dallas Mavericks four years ago.
But in these situations, superstars — and Brunson qualifies — almost always overshoot projections. Did anyone think Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a second-team All-Rookie member, would be an MVP and such a fearful scorer one day for Oklahoma City, for example? (The Clippers, who traded him to OKC, most definitely didn’t.)
Two years ago Brunson, the most celebrated second-round pick since Nikola Jokic, led all American-born players in scoring, and he has since maintained the pace. He has been an MVP top-five finisher and for the second time with the Knicks he’s averaging 28 points.
Most impressively, Brunson isn’t blessed with freakish physical gifts. He’s 6-foot-1 and squatty. He’s not fast.
Josh Hart interjected: “He’s barely six foot, not physically impressive, not athletic.”
He’s quick but not a blur. He is, however, so impressively basketball-smart. He knows all the angles, how to use his body to get leverage on his defender. He has a soft mid-range touch and can get to the rim.
“He constantly finds a way,” said Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley. “He gets you in tough positions. He knows how to use his footwork, knows how to use his leverage, knows how to get calls, stepping into shots.”
Simply and to the point, he breaks down defenses, and the Magic were just the most recent victim. The Knicks’ new coach is getting the same from Jalen Brunson as the former coach did. Can they both go a step further together? That’s the plan and also the mystery.
At least they’ll have the NBA Cup Championship game in a few days.
“It just shows the trust and the faith that he has in me,” Brunson said, “and I’m very thankful of our relationship over these past couple months. It’s only going to continue to get better.”
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
