Tom Thibodeau Spills Truth on Jalen Brunson After Knicks Beat Heat in Game 2

Getty Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks celebrates his three point shot in the first half against the Miami Heat.

While it took a half, New York Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson delivered on his promise to be better in Game 2.

Brunson bounced back from a subpar Game 1 play and a 1-of-6 shooting in the opening half of Tuesday night’s Game 2 with a 23-point explosion in the second half to carry the Knicks to a 111-105 win over the Miami Heat to tie their Eastern Conference semifinal series at one game apiece.

“That’s who he is,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters after the win. “Great leader, great toughness. He never disappoints you. Sometimes he can fall short, but there’s no quitting. He never quits on a play. So I can’t say enough about that. [He] keeps everyone connected.”

Brunson had 13 points in the third quarter that kept the Knicks afloat. Then he added 10 in the fourth quarter, all during the Knicks’ 14-3 run that turned the game around.

He hit a wide-open 3-pointer off a Julius Randle feed to start the backbreaking run. Then after an Isaiah Hartenstein free throw, he made a stepback jumper that tied the game at 93-93 after staring at a six-point deficit a minute earlier.

Brunson’s last five points sandwiched a Josh Hart 3-pointer that pushed the Knicks’ lead to five 101-96 with 2:48 left.

Brunson ended up with 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting despite playing through the pain of a sore right ankle. He became the first Knicks player with a 30-point playoff game at MSG since Carmelo Anthony on May 7, 2013 against the Pacers (Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 2), according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Brunson added five rebounds, two steals and two assists against only one turnover in 40 minutes of play.

Brunson owned the Knicks’ 108-101 Game 1 loss.

“I was horrific. Very uncharacteristic of me, and this one is on me. I got to get better,” Brunson said after his 25 points and seven assists were not enough to lift the Knicks in the series opener.

He came through in Game 2 when the Knicks needed him the most.

Julius Randle’s Return Boosts Knicks

Julius Randle returned after missing Game 1 with a left ankle injury. He played his best game of the playoffs with 25 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

“I mean, just stay with it,” Randle said on the MSG Network postgame show on their huddle talk when the Knicks stared at a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter. “You know, no matter what, [in the] playoffs, there’s gonna be ups and downs; it’s gonna be rough. But as long as we stay together, we feel like we’ll give ourselves a chance to win. And that’s what we did.”

Jimmy Butler Was a Late Scratch

Heat star Jimmy Butler was a late scratch with an ankle injury.

The Knicks weathered the Heat’s defiant stance led by undrafted players Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent. Martin scored 22 points while Vincent added 21 for the Heat, who controlled the game until midway through the fourth quarter.

“I think that’s sort of the nature of the beast right now for everyone like you go in, you know, guys are nicked up this time of the year and so, and there are possibilities that guys could be in or out. So you always have, ‘Okay, if there is a possibility that [Butler] could be out, who will be in? What will the plan be with those guys that are available and then if Jimmy’s available, then we’ll have to plan for him,” Thibodeau told reporters after the game when asked if they will prepare for Game 3 against Butler.

“So you also know, like, in tonight’s case, when he was out, it would be a different type of game. It was,” he added.