Jalen Brunson solves puzzling Hawks defense, hangs 34 points in MLK Day victory

Knicks caput manager Tom Thibodeau entered Monday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks knowing afloat good the situation ahead. Twice this season, the Hawks’ defense, anchored by Dyson Daniels, had stymied Jalen Brunson, forcing subpar shooting nights from the Knicks’ captain.

This time, however, Brunson flipped the script.

In the 3 p.m. Martin Luther King Jr. Day tipoff astatine Madison Square Garden, the crippled dictated a caller attack for the All-Star constituent defender — and Brunson responded by dissecting Atlanta’s defense, drafting fouls connected Daniels, and torching the Hawks for 34 points successful a much-needed 119-110 victory.

Brunson changeable a hyper-efficient 12-of-18 from the field, 3-of-5 from three-point range, and 7-of-11 from the free-throw line. His quality to exploit Daniels’ aggression — baiting him into 3 first-half fouls — was critical, forcing the Hawks’ antiaircraft anchor to the seat and limiting his accustomed effectiveness.

“When you spot thing similar [Daniels’ pressure], you’re trying to marque the close play,” Brunson said postgame. “He was pressuring up, truthful I was trying to evidently get the shot implicit fractional court, usage his aggressiveness against him, and I was capable to get a foul. The dude’s been playing good each year, and the mode he’s been playing, it’s been noticed astir the league.”

Daniels picked up a method foul successful vexation during the 3rd 4th and fouled retired precocious successful the fourth, cementing Brunson’s ascendant performance. Brunson gestured towards the Hawks seat for a substitution aft Daniels picked up his 2nd idiosyncratic successful the archetypal quarter. He past had words for Atlanta’s antiaircraft stopper erstwhile helium fouled retired with 1:16 to spell successful the last period.

“I conscionable said that was six fouls. That’s all. Just stating a fact,” Brunson quipped erstwhile asked astir his late-game speech with Daniels. “In each honesty, he’s a large defender. I’ve got a batch of respect for him. With trash speech oregon not, being competitive, that dude tin hoop.”

Brunson scored 8 points successful the archetypal quarter, taking vantage of the minutes Daniels spent connected the bench. But marque nary mistake, Daniels got the work, excessively — equal-opportunity buckets connected MLK Day indeed.

Brunson added 11 much successful the 2nd quarter, attacking Daniels caput on. On 1 possession, helium utilized a Karl-Anthony Towns surface to propulsion Daniels disconnected balance, past drove into his thorax for a floater astatine the rim. Brunson dug heavy into his container to get the amended of his opponent. After all, it was Daniels who held the prima Knicks defender to conscionable a 5-of-15 shooting show successful the Knicks’ Dec. 21 NBA Cup 4th last nonaccomplishment to the Hawks astatine MSG.

“Sometimes you’re going to miss shots, adjacent bully shots. Just support shooting,” Thibodeau said. “Take bully shots. The crippled tells you what to do.”

Brunson utilized his signature turnaround, fadeaway to get make capable abstraction to get a changeable to autumn implicit Daniels’ contention successful the 2nd quarter. He besides got a step-back 2 to autumn with little than 3 minutes near earlier the half.

“They bash a bully occupation of havign Dyson Daniels and putting him successful presumption to defender the ball. I consciousness similar tonight, Jalen’s conscionable a feline that’s gonna proceed to bash what helium does,” Miles McBride told the Daily News. “He works hard and he’s assured successful his game.”

The Knicks besides adjusted their discourtesy to mitigate Daniels’ relentless full-court pressure. Cameron Payne and different teammates took turns bringing the shot up the court, freeing Brunson to exert little vigor to get the Knicks into half-court sets. Instead, the Knicks ran discourtesy done Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with 7 assists and recovered Brunson connected off-ball cuts some successful the game’s opening possession and with nether 7 minutes near for a bucket to enactment the Knicks up seven.

“I deliberation we were capable to get him a small spot much disconnected the shot and not person him bring the shot up,” Josh Hart said. “Sometimes, erstwhile [Jalen] brings the shot up, it wastes astir 5 oregon six seconds, and past it takes a mates seconds to get into thing [on offense]. So present we’ve got 12 seconds to truly spell retired determination and execute. And we can’t play that way.”

The triumph snapped a agelong successful which the Knicks had dropped six of their erstwhile 9 games, providing momentum arsenic they hole for the 2nd limb of a back-to-back against the Nets connected Tuesday. The Knicks had besides dropped 4 of their past six location games earlier righting their wrongs connected Monday.

Monday night.“I deliberation much importantly, [the focus] was for america to get that win, careless of who we were playing, conscionable to person a triumph astatine home,” Brunson said. “With the agelong of games that we person astatine home, we’ve got to decorativeness retired this period strong. Regardless, it was a large triumph for us.”

Against an hostile that had dominated them doubly before, the Knicks showed they could accommodate and flooded — led by a skipper who fto the crippled usher him and delivered erstwhile it mattered most.

“He’s ever going to travel through,” said Thibodeau.

“I consciousness similar astatine immoderate fixed time, he’s susceptible of having a large night,” added McBride.