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(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
The New York Knicks held down home-court advantage following their 109-93 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 21 at Madison Square Garden. Moreover, Jalen Brunson put on his facilitator hat to push the Knicks to a 2-0 series lead as the series heads to Cleveland.
Brunson played 40 minutes and recorded 19 points while going 7-for-16 from the floor and 1-for-7 from 3-point land. However, the 29-year-old’s biggest impact came from finding his teammates as he registered 14 assists on the night.
After the Cavs’ loss, head coach Kenny Atkinson spoke to the media and shared his thoughts on Brunson’s performance, as the Knicks star has hurt them in two ways so far in this series. In Game 1, Brunson put up 38 points, while in Game 2, he was distributing the ball.
“That’s what great players do,” Atkinson told reporters postgame. “They read the game, and the game dictated that. Obviously, we were loaded up more on him, and he found other guys. We just have to find that balance. But 14 assists, credit to him. We took away some scoring options, blitzed him, gave him different looks. He made the right reads and was in the right places.”
Atkinson will now need to go back to the drawing board in defending Brunson, as they were able to limit his point production but couldn’t prevent him from still having a major impact on the game.
Knicks HC Mike Brown Talks Jalen Brunson Performance
Meanwhile, Knicks head coach Mike Brown also shared his thoughts on Brunson’s performance, noting that it spotlighted how versatile his superstar can be on the court.
“As an MVP candidate, Jalen Brunson’s job is to make the game easier for his teammates,” Brown told reporters. “And that’s what he did. You know, if you don’t send a second guy at him, he’s got a pretty good chance of scoring it.
“If you send the second guy at him, he’s going to make the game easier for his teammates. He’s going to find them. They just have to step up and make shots. So it starts with Jalen as an MVP candidate, but also it ends with his teammates making shots.”
New York’s Mindset Heading Into Game 3
Despite New York having all the momentum now that the series switches to Cleveland, Josh Hart, who scored 26 points to help Brunson in the scoring department, shared the mindset the team needs on the road.
“We can’t be happy with being up 2-0,” Hart told ESPN’s Lisa Salters after the Game 2 win over the Cavaliers. “This team was just down 2-0 last series and came back. So we got to go out there. We know they’re going to have a sense of urgency, a sense of desperation. And we can’t just match it; we have to exceed it. So we got to learn from film tomorrow and get ready for a tough one.”
Furthermore, along with his 26 points, Hart also provided seven assists to be a thorn in Cleveland’s side in this contest. With the Cavaliers looking to erase Brunson from beating them, Hart answered the call and stepped up in Game 2.
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
