#jalen-brunson

#jalen-brunson

The Knicks took care of business first, defeating the Orlando Magic 132-120 after a stellar performance from guard Jalen Brunson. He dropped a season-high 40 points, plus eight assists. It marked Brunson's 19th 40-point performance as a Knick, the third most in franchise history, according to ESPN Research. Knicks coach Mike Brown said Brunson's performance is "what MVPs are supposed to do."

For the first time in the tournament's three-year history, the Knicks will be heading to Vegas for the NBA Cup semifinals. With their win on Tuesday against the Toronto Raptors, New York broke its two-year streak of first-round losses in the NBA Cup. In 2023, they lost to the Bucks in the inaugural in-season tournament. In 2024, they fell to the Hawks at home.

Back-to-back Norman Powell buckets put the Heat up 18 with 6:10 left. The Knicks quickly cut the deficit to five - 110-105 - with 1:32 remaining. But unlike last year, the Heat were able to hold off the late-game surge and walk away with a win. A good contest in transition from Nikola Jovic, which immediately led to a left-handed lob to Bam Adebayo in transition, spiked the lead to 10 with under 30 seconds left, all but icing the Heat's second victory of the season.

The Knicks clearly have made changes, firing coach Tom Thibodeau despite the success he brought, importing Mike Brown to revamp the system and strengthening the bench. But all of the changes that work fine on paper work only if the Knicks can figure out a way to play to their strengths - the offensive ability of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart are bringing the Roommates Show Block Party back to Central Park on September 6 to celebrate Season 3 of their podcast.