Jalen Brunson is playing the highest-stakes basketball of his life in the NBA Finals between the Knicks and Spurs, and answered the call with his biggest performance yet in a pivotal Game 4.
He scored 36 points on 12-for-25 shooting from the field, grabbing five rebounds, dishing seven assists, and coming away with three steals in a narrow victory in which he hit two of the most clutch shots.
Brunson's night should be a relief to Knicks fans who watched him struggle through the first three games.
In Game 1, it took him 31 shots to get to 30 points, he shot 28 percent for 20 points in Game 2, and while he had solid efficiency in Game 3, his process, turnovers, and defense left much to be desired.
If Brunson is playing more like his past two games (and entire playoffs) than the first two of the Finals, the Knicks are in exponentially better position to close this series out and win their first NBA championship in over half a century.
Here’s what San Antonio has done to disrupt his rhythm, how he got it back, and what that means for Game 5...
The Spurs have maintained the strategy of not letting Brunson get any comfortable looks. He’s pressed 94 feet down the court by the defensive demon Stephon Castle, and his favorable matchups are choices of guys many inches taller than him or Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama.
They’ve had Wembanyama lurking in the paint and are switching or blowing up enough off-ball actions to deter the Knicks from their Karl-Anthony Towns-centric offense, which opened up Brunson’s off-ball game. His free catch-and-shoot or cutting attempts have been few and far between, with only a couple of set plays opening things up for him.
With Brunson largely on the ball, he has consistently seen coverages forcing him to try and score in the packed paint, make the perfect dish-out or hit tough pull-ups. Picks are largely switched among wings, or if Wembanyama is the low man, he’s in a drop that covers twice the space of a normal player.
In the former scenario, that essentially just leaves Brunson playing one-on-one ball, which was much less of a problem against the Cleveland Cavaliers than the defensive-minded Spurs. San Antonio has done well not to allow easy blow-bys, and is packing the paint any time Brunson comes near it.
The reason the first two games were such stinkers was due in part to Brunson growing accustomed to this defense and its individual members, and he’s slowly come to find his angles and attack points on each defender. There were a lot of early forced misses playing into the isolation-ball, where he settled for looks that are available any time in this series.
Defenders are also keeping entirely attached to Brunson if he does get a step, essentially begging him to get into his foul-drawing bag. This can distract him from taking normal in-rhythm shots, or take him out of the game if there’s a tough whistle, like in Games 1 and 2.
It’s no surprise his best games have come when he’s successfully drawn eight and 11 free throws instead of four and five, respectively, in the first two games. Brunson began punishing the Spurs for their physicality in Game 3, and getting Castle into foul trouble may have swung Game 4.
When he’s off a pick and Wembanyama is waiting, the defensive stalwart is up high enough to dissuade Brunson’s mid-range game. On the series, Brunson is only 6-for-26 from his favorite range on the court, a major win for the Spurs' defense.
New York’s shaky spacing and Brunson’s inconsistent playmaking have made this even tougher.
If there aren’t clear passing lanes and the paint is filled with bodies, Brunson simply stalls and passes the ball, which has been a regular occurrence.
This is why the insertion of Jose Alvarado in the fourth quarter of Game 4, and Brunson’s relentless attack on Wembanyama helped open things up. With their anchor out in rotation and another threat carving into the lane, Brunson has had clearer windows to his spots and teammates.
San Antonio is satisfied giving him pull-up threes, one key weak point in their scheme, but without a rhythm behind it Brunson struggled to convert attempts in Games 1 and 2. As he got going in the paint in the latter two games and was more selective about his looks, his three-point shot went in at a much better efficiency at home.
Brunson and the Knicks can use all of this to ensure a solid strategy going into Game 5.
To start, the Knicks can try to force the Wembanyama switch or just bring him into continuous action to run him ragged and get him out of the paint.
The officials may dictate how much Brunson can leverage the Spurs' physicality early - if he can catch Castle on a couple of fouls, it will give him some room in his in-between game. Start off with some clean rim attacks and free throws, and the pull-up game will open up from deep.
Towns has also had big games this series. If the Knicks can get his game flowing more, Brunson could be the beneficiary away from the ball. Of course, this is assuming the Spurs keep with their current approach.
The Spurs have thrown the occasional traps and doubles, but may press the button fully to keep the ball out of Brunson’s hands in this do-or-die game. Perhaps they have Wembanyama always switch to goad him into more tough pull-ups.
Whatever happens, the Knicks have proven they can win with or without Brunson playing his best offensive game. He has been lights out in the clutch and is surrounded by talent starved for this one final win -- let’s see if they can capture it.
