Jalen Brunson scores 38 points, goes the distance as Knicks top Heat to force Game 6
Jalen Brunson strapped on the cape. Backed by strong efforts from his sidekicks RJ Barrett and Julius Randle, Brunson played all 48 minutes— a rarity in today’ s NBA, even under the must-win circumstances like Wednesday— and carried the Knicks through a rollercoaster of a 112-103 victory. His gutsy performance cut New York’ s series deficit to 3-2, with Friday’ s Game...
The Knicks needed a hero to keep their season alive. Jalen Brunson strapped on the cape.
Backed by strong efforts from his sidekicks RJ Barrett and Julius Randle, Brunson played all 48 minutes — a rarity in today’s NBA, even under the must-win circumstances like Wednesday — and carried the Knicks through a rollercoaster of a 112-103 victory.
His gutsy performance cut New York’s series deficit to 3-2, with Friday’s Game 6 in Miami fast approaching. And in the short meantime, Brunson can collect his kudos.
“What can you say about the guy?” Tom Thibodeau said. “He’s incredible.”
Brunson did it all at Madison Square Garden, scoring and making whatever plays the circumstances dictated while finishing with nine rebounds and seven assists. Despite zero rest, the point guard’s production never tapered. His ten points in the fourth quarter were timely and necessary.
Then the 26-year-old was all business in his postgame presser.
“Just tried to do everything I could do to win,” he said. “Did that. And now it’s on to Game 6.”
Asked about Thibodeau trusting him to play the entire game, Brunson responded with a smile, “If we win, I’m OK with it.”
For Randle, it was a wild roller coaster. About an hour before tipoff, he was announced as an All-NBA Third Team selection — the second time Randle was picked as one of the NBA’s top-15 players in the last three years.
Then he was hit in the eye accidentally by Bam Adebayo within the opening seconds of Game 5. His first quarter was miserable with two turnovers and six misses on seven shots. He was benched for most of the second quarter, as the Knicks surged from a 10-point deficit to a two-point lead. Meanwhile, a small welt formed under Randle’s right eye from the Adebayo contact.
“It’s the price of war, I guess,” Randle said. “After that I couldn’t really see anything. Seeing the guys out there competing energized me.”
He returned and scored eight points in the final two minutes of the first half, including a stepback 3-pointer close to the buzzer. A strong third quarter pushed Randle to finish with 24 points in 36 minutes, and the victory masked that he again disappeared in the fourth quarter.
Barrett finished with 26 points and hit clutch free throws down the stretch.
The Knicks were playing without Immanuel Quickley, the sparkplug reserve who sprained his ankle late in Game 3. With his absence, Brunson was burdened with more minutes and he handled them exquisitely. Quentin Grimes also played all 48 minutes and helped limit Jimmy Butler, who looked mortal and slow Wednesday while scoring 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting in 43 minutes.
The Heat, meanwhile, endured its worst game in the series. Its 3-point shot went sideways through the first three quarters, before a too-little, too-late comeback. Kevin Love, the 34-year-old power forward, missed all seven of his treys.
Midway through the fourth quarter and New York’s lead dwindling, Miami resorted to fouling Knicks center Mitchell Robinson on purpose. It happened on two straight New York possessions, and Robinson, an atrocious foul shooter in the postseason, connected on 3-of-4 as the Garden crowd exploded.
There were two pivotal moments for the Knicks. After trailing by 10 in the first quarter, they opened up the second with a 18-2 run. Then the 23-4 run immediately after halftime gave them the lead for good, with the advantage reaching 19 in the third quarter.
Brunson, the hero, wasn’t ready to celebrate.
“We live to see another day,” he said.
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