Jalen Brunson leads Knicks' victory over Raptors, into NBA Cup semifinal against Magic
The Knicks' Jalen Brunson reacts with Karl-Anthony Towns during the first half of their Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinal game against the Raptors at Scotiabank Arena on Dec. 9 in Toronto. Credit: Getty Images/Cole Burston
TORONTO — Maybe we should have known that Jalen Brunson, as much as any player, would know how to lead his team in a tournament after guiding his Villanova teams to NCAA titles twice during his college days.
“There has to be a level of urgency,” Brunson said earlier. “This isn’t a series. It’s a one-game series. This is win or go home, so you’ve got to be ready to go. There’s no easy win to this. So there has to be a level of urgency.”
Brunson took over the game from the very start, scoring the first points of the game and not stopping until he had poured in 20 of his game-high 35 points in the opening quarter, leading the Knicks to a 117-101 win over the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena and earning a trip to the semifinals of the NBA Cup.
The Cup brings a payday for players and some coaches, a number that rises with every round a team reaches. And for the Knicks, it also gives them a chance to earn a title, even if it is an in-season tournament rather than the banner the team has been chasing for more than 50 years.
“All of our guys, especially as you go along or advance, you should embrace any type of pressure that comes along with it, because at the end of the day, that’s what you do when you’re a competitor,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “But also it helps prepare you for times down the road when you’re put in the same situation. During the regular season, this is about as close as you can get to simulating a playoff run. So we talk about it and add more pressure to it, so our guys will embrace it and handle it the right way and see if we can go get it.”
The Knicks were the only team to have reached at least the quarterfinals in each of the first three seasons of the NBA Cup — but had yet to get past this round until Tuesday night. Now, they head home for a brief reprieve before flying to Las Vegas, where they will face the Orlando Magic on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. EST.
The Knicks enter the Cup semis as hot as any team outside of Oklahoma City, winning four straight and eight of their last nine. The Knicks have lost two of three to Orlando this season, but did just beat them Sunday and the Magic is without Franz Wagner, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the game.
The Knicks and Raptors have had history — whether it is the trade that swung the fortunes of the Knicks two years ago, sending RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to Toronto (and both were sidelined for this game) for a package centered around OG Anunoby or the lawsuit the Knicks filed and recently had dismissed for what they claimed was proprietary information theft.
But on the floor, it just seemed like a mismatch after the first quarter. Josh Hart chipped in a season-best 21 points, connecting on 8 of 11 shots, including 4-for-7 from three. Karl-Anthony Towns, who was listed as questionable until just before game time after sitting out Sunday with calf soreness, added 14 points and 16 rebounds.
Brunson shot 13-for-19, including 6-for-9 on threes.
The Knicks took the game over in the second quarter, building a 17-point halftime lead. And out of the locker room at halftime, they were not going to let this chance get away, quickly upping the lead to 24 points. Toronto managed to close within 14 and seemed to fight off the Knicks' efforts to put it out of reach. But when Anunoby drained a wide-open three with 4:45 left, the benches were not emptied yet, but the fans began streaming for the exits.
The Knicks didn’t miss a shot for nearly four minutes to start the game, but still found themselves tied when they finally misfired thanks to a pair of turnovers and Toronto’s makeshift lineup matching their output. And then just 4:37 in, Towns went to the bench with his second foul.
The Knicks' offense still was productive with Brunson on fire, connecting on 7-for-9 from the floor for 20 points, but on the other end, the Knicks could not find a way to slow down the shorthanded Raptors. Brandon Ingram had 17 of his 31 points points and Toronto took a 39-35 lead after one.
The Knicks made up ground with Brunson on the bench, building a 47-41 lead. And when he returned, he continued what he was up to — hitting his first two shots while Towns also chipped in, driving and dunking over a pair of Raptors defenders. Toronto finally tried to just get the ball out of Brunson’s hands, sending two defenders at him. But he willingly got off the ball and the rest of the Knicks were basically running practice four-on-three drills, upping the lead to 69-52 at halftime.
“It’s something that they just started two years ago. Third year, right?” Mitchell Robinson said. “Yeah, I mean it’s new, so of course we want to see how it is, get the experience of it. They also got a country concert [at the Sphere in Vegas], so I can go to that — Zac Brown.”
Notes & quotes: The Knicks said that there was no update yet on Deuce McBride’s sprained left ankle. He had an MRI Monday, but no length of time sidelined has been announced.
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.
