The Knicks have to pick their Jalen Brunson playoff moments

· New York Post

DETROIT — Jalen Brunson’s burden was lifted until crunch time. And that’s the clearest path to New York’s success.

For the first time in this fun series, the Knicks played with a lead in Thursday’s Game 3 and played like they deserved to win. It started in the opening quarter, with Mikal Bridges or Josh Hart frequently bringing up the ball while providing Brunson a respite — while Karl-Anthony Towns soaked up the majority of scoring opportunities.

As Hart relayed prior to tipoff, the hope was for Brunson to take a page out of LeBron’s book because, “’Bron comes in the first quarter, the second quarter, makes sure he gets his guys involved, gets them into rhythm, and then he takes over when you need him to take over.”

Detroit Pistons guard Dennis Schroder tried to steal the ball from New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson during the second half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Detroit. AP

The Knicks applied that Thursday. Brunson’s usage rate in the first quarter was third behind Towns and OG Anunoby. It was again behind those two in the third quarter, when the Knicks built a double-digit lead.