Knicks coach Mike Brown believes his star guard should be getting far more hype for the MVP award considering the season he is putting together.
The case for Jalen Brunson will certainly be helped by his performance Saturday in a 132-120 NBA Cup semifinal victory over the Magic at T-Mobile Arena.
Brunson finished with 40 points and eight assists to help New York (18-7) advance to Tuesday’s 5:30 p.m. championship game.
“He makes the game easier for everybody,” Brown said. “That’s what MVPs are supposed to do, and he definitely did that tonight. When you have a guy like that that can go get a bucket and he keeps you in the game and gets you leads and at the end of the day, he carries you home.
“It’s beautiful to be able to see him do what he’s more than capable of doing on a national stage like this in an environment like this, so that hopefully you guys as media and the fans out there can continue talking about him as an MVP of this league because that’s exactly what he is.”
Brunson will get a chance to make another case Tuesday night when the Knicks take on the Spurs, a shocking 111-109 winner over Oklahoma City in the other semifinal.
Star Victor Wembanyama, who drew “M-V-P” chants of his own at T-Mobile Arena, had 22 points and nine rebounds while finishing a plus-21 in his 21 minutes to lead San Antonio (18-7) in his return from a left calf injury that sidelined him for a month.
It was a stunning defeat for a Thunder team off to a historic start. Oklahoma City (24-2) lost in the NBA Cup championship game last season.
Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 29 points.
Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 23 points, while De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle each had 22 for San Antonio, which now has a chance to win its first NBA Cup.
The Spurs will have to get by Brunson to do it.
“There’s no campaign speech. I’m just telling the truth, and he has not gotten enough credit,” Brown said. “What I have seen when somebody brings up conversations about MVP, and you see a lot of other great candidates that are well-deserving but I don’t ever hear Jalen’s name. When you (have one of the best records in the conference), and you’re putting up the numbers that he’s putting up, his name’s got to be one of the first names coming out of somebody’s mouth. I just hope to see that more, not by the local people in New York because they get to see him every day, but by the national people, and that’s what I want to get across.”
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Brunson made his case on the court, particularly during a pivotal 10-0 run that spanned the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth.
Brunson hit a pair of acrobatic shots in the lane before finding college teammate Mikal Bridges for a layup in transition with a smooth bounce pass. Then, Brunson juked Anthony Brown to the floor and drained a stepback 3-pointer in a clip that instantly blew up on social media.
Orlando would never get closer than six points the rest of the way.
“I wasn’t thinking that I needed to take over,” Brunson said. “I just knew that they were on a run and we needed to step up ourselves. And so those are the plays, and it just happened to be me at that point, and I was aggressive and we converted. And on that 3, he just tripped on my foot and I made the shot. Simple as that.”
He made plenty of them as he put up season-highs in both points and made field goals. Brunson finished 16-for-27 from the field and had 25 points at halftime to keep the Knicks in the game before the big run late in the third.
Another college teammate from Villanova, Josh Hart, made the case that Brunson is one of the best scorers in the league while casually roasting his close friend.
“He’s barely 6 feet tall,” Hart joked as he sat next to Brunson. “He’s not physically impressive or athletic. But he’s able to manipulate the defense. Obviously a big head, so he has a big brain. He’s able to figure out these angles and find himself in positions to be successful. You know, inch for inch, I think he is probably the best (scorer).”
Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 points and eight rebounds, while also earning a defensive player of the game nod from Brown.
“He’s been playing a lot better on that end of the floor, and he’s got to keep performing at a high level for us defensively in order for us to continue to get wins,” Brown said. “Especially in environments like today.”
Jalen Suggs led Orlando (15-11) with 26 points and seven assists, though 25 of his points came in the first half before he left the game due to what coach Jamahl Mosley called a “sore hip.’
Paolo Banchero added 25 points for the Magic.
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