Getty Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks dribbles against Kyle Lowry #7 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the first half at Madison Square Garden.
Philadelphia 76ers‘ Kyle Lowry made a bold claim about his fellow Villanova alum Jalen Brunson after they beat the shorthanded New York Knicks in a grinding 79-73 win at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, March 10.
Lowry referred to Brunson as an “All-NBA guy” after they held the Knicks star point guard to 19 points on 6 of 22 shooting.
“Send bodies to him. Make him see bodies. He still got some and-ones. He still got some shots made, and he’s an All-NBA guy, an All-Star, a guy who’s gonna be a dominating presence in this league for a long time,” Lowry told reporters.
Lowry became the latest to make such a bold claim after Bleacher Reports’ Dan Favale penciled Brunson to be in the All-NBA Third Team.
Brunson, 27, has just earned his first All-Star berth this season on the heels of his 27.1 points, 6.5 assists and 2.6 3s made per game — all career highs — on a 47/40/84 shooting split.
The 76ers gave him that respect as they constantly threw double teams that slowed him down, and as a result, stymied the Knicks’ offense.
“That’s a tough team over there,” Lowry said. “They’ve got an All-NBA superstar who pretty much is gonna try to win the game and can win any game for them. And we just tried to limit him as much as possible, which is tough to do. We stuck to the game plan and stayed in our zone, and had big shots down the stretch. And Kelly Oubre Jr. has been playing his butt off.”
Oubre was responsible for making Brunson’s life a living hell on Sunday night. He held the Knicks star to 2 of 9 shooting as his primary defender, per NBA.com’s matchup tracker.
Kelly Oubre Needed Ice Tub After Battling Jalen Brunson
Oubre was spent after producing 18 points and 10 rebounds to pace the equally shorthanded 76ers while defending Brunson.
“They came into our house a couple of weeks ago and punched us in the mouth for 48 minutes so we wanted to come out here and do the same thing,” Oubre told ESPN’s Katie George during his postgame interview. “But, you know, they’re a really tough basketball team. Coach [Thibodeau] is a tough coach and [Brunson] is a tough guard, but guarding him for 48 minutes, I need to go in the ice tub.”
Oubre also laughed off the scuffle between him and Knicks starting shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo.
“It’s just frustration,” Oubre told reporters, per NBC Sports Philadelphia. “This is a game of basketball. It’s high energy [game]. We are at The Garden. But I’ve got no enemies in this league. All that stuff was funny to me. I don’t know why. I just laugh. Because nobody’s gonna fight. So at the end of the day, I’ll see you Tuesday bro.”
OG Anunoby, Tyrese Maxey Return
Tuesday’s rematch will have more fireworks as a key player from both teams will make their return from injuries.
OG Anunoby will also make his much-anticipated comeback from elbow surgery after missing 18 games, per The Athletic’s Shame Charania.
On the other hand, Tyrese Maxey, who missed the 76ers’ last four games, has cleared concussion protocols, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.