#jalen-brunson

#jalen-brunson

Less than 48 hours since they went 1-for-20 in the first half of a comeback victory against the Heat, the Celtics bricked their way to their worst performance of the season from 3-point range: 7-for-41, a brutal 17.1 percent from deep. Previously, the Celtics' worst performance this season was 11-for-51 (21.6 percent) in a loss to the Jazz in November. The last time they shot 17.1 percent or worse was Dec. 10, 2021 in a loss to the Suns (a season, incidentally, that featured a lot of incredibly bad 3-point shooting, including a 2-for-26 performance against the Wizards).

During their current five-game win streak, which was extended on Sunday night with a 112-100 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Madison Square Garden, they rank No. 1 in the NBA in defensive efficiency, No. 2 in opponent three-point percentage, No. 5 in turnovers forced, and No. 6 in opponent field-goal percentage. It is a significant turnaround from the unit that ranked 29th in opponent three-point percentage and 26th in defensive efficiency during an 11-game stretch in January, when they went 2-9.

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."

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.