He wasn’t coming out, understand? Earlier, as all around the city obituaries were being prepared for the Knicks, Jalen Brunson had spoken in that matter-of-fact drone of his — same after a 15-point win as after a buzzer-beating loss — and he’d given everyone a hint of what was to come.
“You can’t shy away from the moment,” he’d said after the Knicks had finished their morning walk-through. “You have to go out there and attack it. It’s OK to be nervous, it’s OK to be anxious. But when you go out on the court you’ve just got to give it your all.”
And in Brunson’s case, that meant, quite literally, giving his all. It meant playing every second of this season-saving 112-103 victory over the Heat, buying the Knicks at least two more days of season, still owners of a pulse even if they’re down 3-2 in this series heading back to Miami.
It meant one of the most complete games he’s posted in a season in which he’s enjoyed more complete games than Old Hoss Radbourne back in the day. He had 38 points, sinking 12 of his 22 shots. He had nine rebounds, had seven assists. He turned the ball over once.
He wasn’t coming out, understand?
“What can you say about the guy?” Tom Thibodeau asked no one, and everyone.
In the Knicks’ pantheon of epic all-time elimination-game performances it may not quite be Clyde Frazier’s 36 points, 19 assists and seven rebounds from Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the Lakers, or Patrick Ewing’s 24 points, 22 rebounds and five blocks from Game 7 of the ’94 Eastern Finals against Indiana.
But it sure deserves space on the shelf.
“He’s just an incredible all-around player, a great leader — great toughness,” Thibodeau said. “Mental toughness, physical toughness, he thinks on his feet, he brings the best out of people. It’s what makes him a special player.”
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And it’s what made him irreplaceable on this night. Brunson and Thibodeau never mentioned it before, but there was a clear, unspoken understanding that Brunson was going to play until he raised his hand and asked for a breather. And if one thing was obvious all game, Brunson was sooner going to order a beer and a hot dog from the concession stand during a timeout than spend even one second on the bench.
“I was going to do whatever it takes,” Brunson said. “Everyone was.”
And everyone did. For Quentin Grimes — who two weeks ago was in danger of becoming a forgotten man on this team — it meant also playing all 48, bouncing back and forth from one defensive assignment to another — even after twisting his ankle.
“You don’t go in expecting to play all 48,” he said, “but once you’re in there that long you may as well stay in.”
For Mitch Robinson — who Heat coach Erik Spoelstra smartly targeted in the fourth quarter, hacking the 48 percent foul shooter at every opportunity — it meant sinking four huge free throws that sent the crowd into tizzies every bit as explosive as anything Brunson did. For RJ Barrett it meant another addition to his growing playoff collection of excellent games, 26 points and seven rebounds.
And for Julius Randle, it meant a fine 24/5/5 night two days after he questioned if maybe the Heat wanted it more than the Knicks did. On that night, it seemed they did.
On this one, the Knicks weren’t ready to slam the trunk on the season. Not now. Not yet. Not until they take at least one more swing at the Heat on Friday in Game 6, the first game in Miami’s magical playoff run in which it’ll have genuine pressure on its shoulders, knowing Game 7 beckons at the Garden if it doesn’t close New York out.
“We know,” Brunson said in the morning, “that we have to give this everything we’ve got.”
Eight hours later, he was even better than his word. It won’t be until the Knicks’ season ends that we’ll know for sure just how hurt Brunson is, and has been from the start of these playoffs; knowing Brunson, and knowing how these things work now in pro sports, we may never really know.
“If I’m playing,” Brunson has said repeatedly, “then I’m fine.”
Wednesday, that meant playing every second, every quarter, demanding both the basketball and the burden, delivering on every promise that accompanied him to New York.
“The thing I love about him is, you prepare yourself for that,” Thibodeau said, referring to going the full 48. “I’ve never seen anyone work the way he does, whether in front of everyone or our gym. And he’s always at game speed so he never has to adjust himself.”
There was maybe even the whisker of a smile here, “He’s a tremendous leader,” the Knicks’ coach said.
He’s been that since Day 1. On Day 225, in Game 92, he became something else beyond. He became the guy who kept basketball season alive in New York City another two days. He did everything but fly the plane back to Miami. Although if he’d have had to …
