The New York Knicks steamrolled the Milwaukee Bucks in blowout fashion on Sunday, led by the tremendous performance of Jalen Brunson, who scored 44 points in just 29 minutes in the win.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks to a big win over Bucks
Prior to Sunday, the Knicks had been struggling along with Brunson. They had some trouble shooting threes and are clearly missing much-needed depth. However, Brunson’s performance was reminiscent of last season when he would carry his team through wins when they needed a guy to come through the most.
A further display of his leadership came in the third quarter on Sunday, when Brunson appeared to injure his shoulder and left for the locker room. After about 15 minutes of fans anxiously awaiting an update, Brunson not only emerged from the locker room but checked right back into the game, to which the Madison Square Garden crowd responded with a standing ovation and chants of “MVP! MVP!”
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau praised Brunson’s leadership following the game, deeming it “inspiring.”
“A great leader unites and inspires. And it could be a lot of different ways. I’m a big believer not so much in what guys say but what they do,” Thibodeau said (h/t Posting and Toasting).
Brunson’s turnaround is what helps the Knicks play at their best
The past several games had many fans worried, as they seemed to struggle against top teams in either conference. Despite the Knicks having a better record than the Bucks, they have two superstars on the floor in Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Brunson’s dominance over both of them showed just how great of a leader he is.
The Knicks were missing the big performances from their star players, which was what kept them in a lull for as long as they were. It was a similar case at the start of the season, when the team got off to a 5-6 start and we’re just starting to build chemistry.
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Brunson has since started to look like the version he was last season, which is a great sign for the Knicks moving forward. He will have another opportunity to showcase his captain leadership on Monday when he and the Knicks take on the Detroit Pistons on the second end of a back-to-back.
