Jalen Brunson silences early Knicks concerns in win over Bulls

Jalen Brunson had enough.

Enough of an early three-game losing streak. Enough of the quickly growing questions about Mike Brown and his fit. Enough of the sudden bad vibes around the Knicks.

Brunson is so often their stabilizing force. After the Knicks hit their first bit of adversity in Brown’s tenure, Brunson steadied the waters.

He scored 19 of the Knicks’ first 34 points and immediately set the tone.

He finished with MVP chants ringing around MSG in the fourth quarter. And he ended up with a game-high 31 points as the Knicks beat the Bulls 128-116 on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden to start a seven-game homestand.

Sunday felt like an important moment in Brown’s early days with the Knicks.

They didn’t lose four in a row last year under Tom Thibodeau.

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The last time they did was February 2024. Brown was at risk of doing it within six games of taking over.

It also was an immediate rematch against a previously undefeated Bulls team that outclassed the Knicks just two days prior in Chicago. The Knicks are supposed to be the powerhouse in the Eastern Conference, and the Bulls entered the year expected to resemble a team closer to the middle of the pack. On Sunday, the Knicks dusted themselves off the mat and punched back, looking more like the heavyweight they view themselves as.

Two sequences surrounding timeouts were telling about the urgency that is not usually felt in a Nov. 2 regular-season game.

Early in the first quarter, OG Anunoby turned the ball over, leading to a Bulls fast break. Brunson and Mikal Bridges got back but were outnumbered 3-on-2. Bridges did enough to force Matas Buzelis into a missed layup, but Isaac Okoro was able to grab the rebound uncontested and put it in. Brown called a timeout during which Bridges animatedly yelled at his teammates — particularly Anunoby — to get back in transition. The Knicks subsequently outscored the Bulls 24-14 to close the quarter.

After entering halftime up 68-60, a long rebound off a missed 3-pointer by Brunson on the Knicks’ first offensive possession of the third quarter prompted a Bulls break and another easy layup for Okoro. Brown had just talked to his team at halftime but wasted no time in calling a timeout 39 seconds into the second half. The Knicks promptly went on a 16-10 run and restored a double-digit lead before the Bulls called a timeout of their own.

Brunson’s supporting cast was well balanced. Anunoby added 21 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 20. And more than a few of Brunson’s 3-pointers were clean, catch-and-shoot, spot-up looks — exactly Brown’s vision in having Brunson play more off the ball with a team-wide emphasis on ball movement. Brunson surpassed 9,000 career points in the win.

Jordan Clarkson was a difference-maker for the first time since joining the Knicks in free agency. He scored 11 points in the second quarter, providing a spark when the Bulls were gaining a bit of momentum. He finished with 15. Josh Hart shook off his woeful shooting start to the year, scoring 14 points. As a whole, the Knicks bench outscored the Bulls’ reserves 46-30.

The Knicks had struggled with Brown’s main pillars during the skid. On Sunday, they were evident.

Pace? The Knicks had a 24-19 advantage in fast-break points. Ball movement? The Knicks had 31 assists, three more than the Bulls. Three-point shooting? The Knicks shot a lights-out 47.6 percent from deep.

For one night at least, the alarm bells were silenced.