PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Brunson enjoyed — well, if you know anything about the Knicks’ best player, he didn’t enjoy it at all — a breakout offensive game after two uncharacteristically poor shooting nights to start the first round of the playoffs.
Brunson’s 39 points went for naught in a Game 3 loss to the Sixers after the Knicks had won twice in New York despite their All-Star point guard shooting a combined 29.1 percent from the floor.
“Ball went in the hole. I was able to make plays, not just for myself, but for others. But for all that being good, we lost, so it doesn’t really matter,” Brunson said after practice Saturday at Wells Fargo Center. “[It’s about] being together and reading each other on both offense and defense. And just being a step quicker to everything, but most importantly sticking together.”
Brunson missed 39 of 55 shot attempts in the first two games of the series.
But the Knicks won Game 1 due largely to huge pick-me-up performances by Josh Hart, Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson, and they used a frantic 8-0 comeback in the final 27 seconds — including 3-pointers by Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo — to steal Game 2.
The 6-foot-2 Brunson largely has been guarded by taller opponents Kelly Oubre Jr. (6-7) and Nicolas Batum (6-8) through three games.
He hit nearly half of his shot attempts (13-for-27) overall in Game 3, including 3-for-7 from 3-point range plus a 10-for-12 night from the free-throw line.
“I’m not gonna say anything too crazy, but he has the ball in his hands for 20 seconds out of a 24-second shot clock,” Oubre said Saturday. “He passes the ball and gets it right back. He puts up probably the most shots on his team, as he should.
“But at the end of the day, he’s being used a lot. He’s being used to play 48 minutes and have 40 points. He has to. But it’s my job to just stay in front of him and stay disciplined and not go for his fakes. He has amazing footwork. … He’s very crafty and he shoots the ball every time. We gotta continue to chase him.”
Added Batum: “With guys like that, you know they’re gonna get their shot up anyway, and go to their spot anyway, no matter what you do. You just have to make them work, that’s it. They’re gonna get 25 shots, no matter what you do. That’s why they’re that good, that’s why they’re who they are. All we have to do is make them work for each one of them.”