Steve Popper: Knicks' Jalen Brunson racks up assists, making opponents pay for double-teaming him
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson loks to pass the ball as Nuggets guard Jamal Murray defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Denver. Credit: AP/David Zalubowski
LOS ANGELES — Midway through the first quarter Friday night, Jalen Brunson did what he has done countless times since joining the Knicks: drive toward the basket with his defender on his hip.
You’ve seen him pull up and launch an improbable floater over extended arms countless times. But as has often been the case, a second defender, this time 7-foot Nikola Jokic, shifted over to double-team Brunson, so he floated a pass over Jokic to Mitchell Robinson for an assist, the first of his 15 in the Knicks’ 142-103 victory.
It’s nothing new for Brunson and the Knicks, the efforts that opponents have made to try to slow his scoring output. But since the All-Star break, it has intensified. Teams are intent on getting the ball out of his hands, sending all kinds of double-teams and blitzes at him.
There will be plenty of times when the Knicks will need Brunson to find a way to the rim, drop in some gravity-defying floater or sink a clutch three-point field goal. But for now, he has activated the rest of the Knicks’ offense by drawing those defenders and finding his teammates.
“He’s taking what the defense is giving him,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “They’re switching, they’re blitzing, they’re trying to throw the kitchen sink at him. And he’s doing a great job of getting off of it . . . And he believes in his teammates. And they’re making the plays they need to make when they’re committing two to the ball.”
Brunson has seen his field-goal attempts dip from 20.5 per game in 50 games to 17.3 in nine games since the All-Star break. In the last four games, he has seen his averages flip; he averaged 18.8 points and 11.8 assists in that span after averaging 26.7 points and 6.1 assists in his first 55 games.
Some of it has been uncharacteristic struggles with his own shot — 8-for-31 in the last two games — but he has turned that into opportunities.
He has recorded 15 assists in each of the last two games, a total he has topped only once in his career, and has 40 assists with only five turnovers in the last three games.
“Obviously, teams are being aggressive,” Brunson said. “The older I get, the more the game slows down for me, so I’ve been able to dissect a little bit.”
How he’s done that is in part due to Brown’s offense built on cutting and movement. And part is his own recognition of the defense, his familiarity with teammates and having the starting lineup intact for a second straight season.
“The way teams have been playing me, I’ve been able to still stay aggressive at the same time,” he said. “Them putting two on the ball means someone is open. While we’re not trying to give in to what they do, we’re still trying to be aggressive and trying to make plays and make life easier for everybody.
“And so when I get in the paint, obviously I’m trying to make plays and I’m trying to stay in that paint, whether it’s for me to shoot a floater or get to the rim or turn around or see somebody open, Mitch for a lob or someone in the corners or at the top of the key. I’m just trying to make the right play at the right time as best I can.”
OG ascension
OG Anunoby seemed on the way to a season maybe deserving of his first All-Star berth, averaging 21.8 points in a seven-game span, converting 50% from beyond the arc and displaying the versatile defense that has made him one of the best in the game. But when he returned after tearing off a toenail and being sidelined for two weeks, he seemed off.
In the last five games, though, he has regained his form, averaging 20.2 points and shooting 57% (50% from three-point range). He capped it with a 34-point, seven-rebound, four-steal, one-block effort in Denver.
“Before his toe injury, he was playing like this, I felt,” Brown said. “He was playing high-level basketball. Powerful. His decisions are quick. He’s touching the paint. If you don’t get to him, he’s knocking the shot down.
“Defensively, he’s on another level, man. If he keeps that up, that’s Defensive Player of the Year-type stuff. For sure first-team All-Defense. He’s guarding point guards. He’s guarding the multi-time MVP, Nikola Jokic. Then he’s guarding everybody in between. It’s just been phenomenal and fun to watch. Because he can do a lot.”
“That’s what he can do,” Josh Hart said. “Defensively guard one through five, and obviously, offensively get to his spots, knock down shots, get in the paint and just be a force.”
Making themselves at home
It’s become a routine occurrence to see Knicks fans crowd into road arenas, mostly along the East Coast. Some of the southern snowbird spots — Orlando, Atlanta and Charlotte — often seem to display more blue and orange than the home team colors.
Still, it was a little odd to hear Knicks fans taking over Ball Arena in Denver on Friday night. While crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles often has plenty of New York transplants, it is the one arena that matches Madison Square Garden for star power, with celebrity Lakers fans filling the courtside seats.
“First of all, I got to give our fans credit,” Brown said.
“It was like when I was at Golden State. You go on the road and you can hear the fans, man. So Knicks fans — shout-out to you guys, you guys are all over the place. So show up for the Lakers game, too.
“It’s been fun to see our fans on the road. But to go play in L.A. and see all that, it’s a neat experience for our guys. And we look at it as the next game and we’re hungry, we’re hungry to be better. And I think our guys will be locked in.”
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.
