The Knicks' Jalen Brunson, center, passes away from the Denver...

The Knicks' Jalen Brunson, center, passes away from the Denver Nuggets' Christian Braun, left, and Julian Strawther during the first half of an NBA game Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II

Josh Hart found a way to simultaneously praise and tweak Jalen Brunson.

Surrounded by reporters in the locker room 20 or so minutes after the Knicks’ 122-112 win over the Nuggets Wednesday night at the Garden, the swingman was asked to assess his longtime friend and teammate’s performance against one of the preeminent teams in the Western Conference.

The point guard had been brilliant in scoring 30 points in the first 36 minutes. But in the fourth quarter, Brunson did not score and took only one shot from the field. Instead, he recorded seven of his game-high 15 assists in the final 12 minutes to help the Knicks outscore Denver 29-26.

What, Hart was asked, changed for Brunson in the fourth quarter?

He didn’t hesitate.

“Just doing what we needed him to do,” Hart said. “Being aggressive and then everything else kind of opens with that. We don’t want him to come in passive, trying to get everybody else shots and not trying to score. Which I don’t think you really got to worry about with him. It was just huge for us, for him to take over the game offensively but then find guys when they’re open and make the unselfish play.”

That has become a theme for the Knicks this season.

Ahead of Saturday night’s nationally televised contest against LeBron James and the Lakers at the Garden, the Knicks (32-16) are 10th in the league with an average of 27.6 assists per game.

The unselfishness has been characteristic of this team.

Brunson’s 7.5 assists per game is ninth-most in the NBA. Hart is 30th among guards with 5.7 per game. Mikal Bridges (3.3) and OG Anunoby (2.0) rank 35th and 76th among forwards, respectively, while Karl-Anthony Towns’ 3.4 assists is third among centers.

“It's all about winning," Towns said after the victory over the Nuggets. The Knicks finished with 33 assists in the contest, which marked the 20th time this season the Knicks had at least 30 assists in a game. Their record in those games is 19-1.

 "I think this is what this team has done so well and it just speaks to the character and professionalism of everyone. Me and JB, we get to represent our teammates at [All-Star Weekend].”

“We’re in a good spot right now,” Brunson said of the Knicks, who have won five straight and are second in the Atlantic Division, a game-and-a-half-back of Boston. They are third overall in the Eastern Conference. “I love how we’re playing. It’s something we’ve got to continue.”

Of the Knicks’ 33 assists against Denver, the starters had 28. Hart and Towns had five apiece. Towns’ assists came in the Knicks’ 31-point first quarter. Bridges finished with two and Anunoby had one. Reserves Miles McBride and Landry Shamet added four and one, respectively.

“Credit to all of them,” Tom Thibodeau said. “Because when the defense is aggressive everybody has to be in sync to take advantage and we feel we’ll get an advantage every time they put two onto Jalen.

"If everyone gets to the right spots and we get the ball out quickly and get off the second pass, it’ll lead to a wide-open shot. Guys were very unselfish and just made the right play. I always say the game tells you what to do. So if they put two on one, hit the open man, let him trust making the pass.”

Notes & quotes: During his pre-game availability Saturday night, Thibodeau said Mitchell Robinson is “pretty close,” to receiving “clearance for regular contact.” Robinson has not played this season because of a left ankle injury. “Everything has gone very smoothly in terms of the rehab,” Thibodeau said. “The controlled contact, you know what’s coming so you can brace yourself for it. Once you get out of that, where you’re just playing and reacting, that’ll be the next step.”

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