Death, taxes, and opposing defenses using long, physical defenders to guard Jalen Brunson.
It’s the blueprint opponents have come up with in an effort to slow down the star Knicks guard whose singular scoring powered a battered Knicks roster to the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed and 50 wins last season.
And to a large extent, it’s worked.
Losses to the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks showed if you can slow down the head of the Knicks’ offensive snake, you can walk off the floor with a win.
The New Orleans Pelicans tried to follow suit. It ultimately backfired.
Brunson got off to a slow start in Saturday’s matchup against the Pelicans, who used a combination of All-Defensive First Team forward Herb Jones and dynamic combo guard Dejounte Murray to guard the Knicks’ All-Star guard.
He then erupted for a season-high 39 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field to fuel a 104-93 come-from-behind victory at the Smoothie King Center, New York’s 13th in their last 17 games.
“A fire got lit, and I found a way to make a couple shots and turn some defense into some good offense,” Brunson said in his walk-off interview after the game. “And from there on, obviously, we found a way.”
Brunson scored six points in the first quarter and four more in the second before exploding for 29 in the second half. He scored 16 points and hit four 3s in the third quarter alone.
“You’ve gotta read the game, and once I saw one go in, I had another good look, and I knew it was time to go,” he continued. “We got the lead, and from that point on, we played well with the lead.”
The star Knicks guard said he’s seen a shift in the way defenses are guarding him this season.
“A little bit. It’s different every night,” he said. “I’ve gotta stay focused knowing that it’s not always the same so I can’t get frustrated thinking it’s gonna be the same or be easy. I’ve gotta get my teammates and stay aggressive.”
The performance marked Brunson’s 62nd 30-point game since joining the Knicks two summers ago. He now ranks seventh in this category, five shy of Willis Reed, with Patrick Ewing (203) and Carmelo Anthony (108) headlining the leaderboard.
And at this rate, Brunson may catch Melo by some time next season. Because even if defenses are being overly physical, he is finding ways to continue to dominate offensively.
On Saturday, he did so by attacking switches, particularly increasing his aggression when non-Jones or Murray defenders were on him. His 7-of-10 shooting night from downtown didn’t hurt either. Brunson was already shooting a career-high 43.1% from three-point range entering Saturday night in New Orleans.
His heroics were much-needed.
Maybe the Knicks had a large Cajun meal pregame in New Orleans. Or maybe the stifling early defense on Brunson trickled down to the rest of the team.
Despite the Pelicans owning the Western Conference’s worst record and missing their two-best players due to injury (Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram), this game was knotted at 28 entering the second quarter.
The Pelicans built a 14-point, 62-48 lead at the 8:08 mark in the third quarter before Brunson turned on the jets.
The Knicks proceeded to outscore the Pelicans, 30-13, in the period then held New Orleans to just 18 points in the final period.
After scoring just 45 points in the first half, the Knicks scored 59 over the final two periods, nearly half coming from Brunson alone.
Josh Hart returned to the lineup after missing Thursday’s game in Minnesota due to personal reasons and finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Mikal Bridges added 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field, and Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists on the night.
All five Knicks starters scored in double figures, a necessary measure given the second unit chipped in just six total points, though Jericho Sims and Precious Achiuwa combined for 15 rebounds off the bench.
“There’s always still room for improvement but I think we’re in a good space,” Brunson said. “We’re finding ways to win.. and most importantly, we’re sticking together.”
Next up, the Knicks return to Madison Square Garden to host the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. They will then host Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Christmas Day.
