BOSTON — The NBA’s best team threw everything it could at Jalen Brunson. In the end, it felt like the Boston Celtics didn’t try hard enough.
The Celtics’ top defenders couldn’t slow down the New York Knicks point guard. They ran through defensive coverages, some as creative as those Brunson has faced this season. None bothered him as expected.
These days there isn’t much to do.
Brunson and the Knicks eviscerated Boston on Thursday. The Celtics’ final cosmetic period embellished the result, a 118-109 victory for New York, which led by as many as 31 points in the second half – thanks, in part, to another sparkler from Brunson, which fell one point short less. his third consecutive 40-point performance.
“The way he plays, the things he can do, it’s really special,” OG Anunoby said. “He’s one of the best in the league. He plays like an MVP; (he) should win MVP.”
The Knicks (48-32) are third in the Eastern Conference but could still finish between second and sixth place. The East is so disorganized that even with just two games left, they could still face any of the five teams in the first round. If the group breaks up in a friendly fashion, they could win multiple playoff series.
Wherever they go, Brunson will carry them — and not because he’s the league’s fourth-leading scorer, not because he’s given up more than 35 points in five straight games, not because he’s their primary offensive source, nor even because Second consecutive season, his production crescendoed in the second half.
In the offensive era, many players can score. But only a handful can bend a defense like Brunson did against the Celtics, who unveiled a catalog of strategies Thursday and still haven’t been able to find one that works.
Learn more here.
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Jalen Brunson’s ‘special’ performance against the Celtics isn’t just about the numbers