Knicks star Jalen Brunson relies heavily on work ethic of his teammates

SAN ANTONIO — Karl-Anthony Towns had handed out an assortment of highlight-reel assists throughout the 48 minutes Friday night, but as he sat beside Jalen Brunson on the stage late that night, he offered one more.

As the series shifts to Madison Square Garden on Monday night, the Knicks are two victories away from the franchise’s first championship since 1973. A question came about the battle that Brunson has endured in the NBA Finals and how the Knicks have managed to overcome their shooting struggles to take the first two games.

Towns didn’t want to hear anything about struggles.

“I’ll leave that question to you and everyone else,” he said. “I’m just worried about the team result, which is winning. And for JB, you call it rough shooting nights. I see him hitting the free throw to give us the game, get Mitch a chance to get the stop for us to win the game. The last game, he hit some of the craziest shots I’ve seen to give us the game. So I don’t know if you say a rough shooting night.

“I see Captain Clutch doing what he’s always been doing since I got here . . . You know, he’s a huge part when it comes down to the actual, the game, to winning the game. Number 11 can’t be messed with.”

It was a fair point. Even if the overall numbers were a reflection of the efforts the Spurs have put forth to try to limit Brunson’s heroics, he has managed to come through when it matters most.

In Game 1, he scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to spur a comeback win. In Game 2, he delivered the Knicks’ final five points even though all eyes were focused on him.

No one who has watched him since college would doubt that a huge offensive night awaits him back home.

But consider the focus of the Spurs. At one point, Victor Wembanyama, the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, found himself isolated at the top of the three-point line against Brunson. As Brunson dribbled calmly, the Spurs frantically sent a second defender rushing over to double-team him and get the ball out of his hands.

“He’s made big shots at the end of games,” said Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, who went nose-to-nose with Brunson at one point as players rushed to get between them.

“He’s a hell of a player. Even when you make it difficult on good players, they’re talented, so they’re going to end up making shots. He’s done that, especially at the end of the games.”

Brunson has shot 19-for-56 overall and 4-for-17 from three-point range in the two games, but he still managed to float an impossible teardrop over the outstretched arm of the 7-4 Wembanyama with 39 seconds left to tie the score in Game 2.

Even after he missed a jumper with 13 seconds left and Wembanyama got the rebound, Brunson was in the right place at the right time. Wembanyama threw the ball off teammate Stephon Castle’s back as they headed upcourt, Brunson grabbed the loose ball in the backcourt, and after Wembanyama ran him over, he hit the first of two free throws with 9.5 seconds left to give the Knicks a 105-104 lead.

Brunson missed the second free throw — his first miss in nine attempts from the line in the series — to give the Spurs an opening. But just as he trusted his teammates throughout the night, he got help on the final play. After Fox found Wembanyama at the right elbow on a pick-and-pop, Mitchell Robinson contested the shot, and it hit the back rim.

“That’s just who they are,” Brunson said. “That’s who my teammates are. Night in and night out, they come and bring it. There’s always going to be things said, regardless of the situation, but I have the utmost trust and faith in them just because of the work ethic and the things that we’re able to do every day.

“When there’s no cameras and when we’re in the practice gym, when we’re in film, when we’re trying to be the best team that we can be, that’s when, in those moments, that’s when we grow.”

While the Knicks have waited for Brunson to deliver in those most nerve-wracking moments — which he has managed to do even through the physical play that the Spurs brought in Game 2, with a number of hard fouls sending him crashing to the floor — the others have carried the day.

Towns outplayed Wembanyama through the first two games. Mikal Bridges lifted the team in the third quarter of Game 2 on both ends of the floor. Robinson delivered the final defensive contest as Wembanyama could not do what Brunson has done so many times: deliver the game-winning shot.

“This team leans on each other,” Towns said. “I think that’s why we’ve gotten here. That’s why we had the success we had during the regular season even when things weren’t going great, because at the end of the day, when things do get tough and the trials and tribulations do present themselves, this team doesn’t disband.

“They don’t go away from each other. We lean into each other even more. We trust each other even more to get out of the rut. That’s what special teams do. Jalen knows. He has a national championship, and you’ve seen the camaraderie and unity they have.”

Brunson interrupted him to point out that his Villanova teams won two national championships.

“I didn’t get one. But I know the success I did have in my career has always come down to one thing: It’s been the unity of the team,” Towns said. “How well does that team truly enjoy being in each other’s presence? Because the NBA season is a grind, and you’re going to be with each other more than you’re going to be with your families, your kids, and if you guys don’t truly enjoy the grind and the work that needs to be put in together, I don’t think success is possible.

“So it’s a testament to these guys, that’s where resiliency comes from, that we don’t want to let each other down. We do look at each other as family, as brothers, and we don’t ever want to see each other not succeed.”

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.