Mike Brown’s ‘rare air’ reaction to Knicks’ Jalen Brunson going full Steph Curry vs. Pacers

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Mike Brown’s ‘rare air’ reaction to Knicks’ Jalen Brunson going full Steph Curry vs. Pacers

Kris Pursiainen, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Sat, Dec 20, 2025 ·

5 min read

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Mike Brown's 'rare air' reaction to Knicks' Jalen Brunson going full Steph Curry vs. Pacers appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

NEW YORK – Just 20 hours after winning the NBA Cup , the New York Knicks tipped off again. Players knew that, regardless of the result, they would be playing their third game in four nights on Friday. Such were the woes of the 2025 NBA Cup champions, who earned a packed schedule with their Las Vegas success.

Despite clear exhaustion, potentially caused by both the schedule and carrying home their prize money, the team persevered on Thursday. The Knicks trailed the Indiana Pacers by as many as 16 points early. Jalen Brunson made that deficit irrelevant with another heroic shot in "the clutch."

The NBA Cup MVP sunk a go-ahead shot over Andrew Nembhard with 4.4 seconds left. Nembhard broke New York's hearts with a 3-pointer to take Game 4 of the 2024 first-round series between these two teams, sweetening Brunson's revenge on Thursday night.

Head coach Mike Brown told reporters after the game that Brunson told him coming out of a huddle that he was "getting this win." The guard followed that with the game-winner, which his coach argued further demonstrated that the point guard is a "real MVP."

The team did not beat the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night. The 116-107 loss was just New York's second at home in 15 games thus far. Before the game, though, Brown remarked that Brunson's Babe Ruth-like heroics left the guard with few peers among players he has previously coached.

"That's special. I'm pretty sure Steph's done it before ," Brown said of Brunson calling and hitting his shot. "I'm sure Bron has, you know, in the times that I've been with him. Kobe , but that- that's rare air, when you're talking about confidence. To be able to say something like that, and then actually go out and do it."

Jalen Brunson refuses "1A" narratives with NBA Cup MVP

Steph Curry, LeBron James , and Kobe Bryant are a pantheon of NBA legends. Brunson has led the Knicks to greater heights than any other star playing home games at Madison Square Garden has this century.

A Conference Finals appearance and a 19-8 start under Brown obviously do not qualify Brunson for more advanced comparisons to all-time greats at the moment. His performance as a Knick throughout several playoff runs, however, certainly indicates that those discussions could one day become relevant.

The 29-year-old is a perennial underdog. He has spoken openly about how any discussion of his performance being riddled with "buts" motivates him to further defy the odds others have decided he must overcome.

In recent years, several highly respected, long-tenured basketball professionals have spoken out against Brunson's NBA superstar status. Champions like Becky Hammon have been unable to laud him for great play without adding that he is "too short" to lead a championship run.

Brunson renewed his career commitment to refusing limits placed on him by others in Las Vegas. When the 6-foot-2 guard received his Cup MVP trophy after defeating the San Antonio Spurs , he held proof that he could indeed captain a title-winning crew.

Nikola Jokic , Giannis "Robin" Antetokounmpo , and many other NBA superstars "couldn't do it" until they did. Like them, Brunson will need an NBA title to completely shed the narratives. They simply will not end until the two-time All-Star hoists a trophy in June.

Between the 2015 U19 World Championship, Villanova, and the third iteration of the league's in-season tournament, though, Brunson has come out atop the pack in four different major tournaments throughout his playing career.

The Larry O'Brien Trophy is his most coveted. New York's decision not to hang a banner for their Cup victory highlights their singular focus on an NBA title. They cited that focus when telling fans they had fired former head coach Tom Thibodeau.

Brunson is clearly capable of playing at the level of a "real MVP," as Brown said. For the Knicks' captain, an NBA championship would nullify much of the discourse about his potential. But more importantly, it would conclude a lifelong pursuit that has transcended a generation.

Tyler Kolek draws "Jalen Brunson school" praise from Nick Nurse

Brunson wasn't the only Knicks guard to receive compliments from a head coach ahead of Friday night's action. 76ers head coach Nick Nurse praised Tyler Kolek when asked about his recent play. Nurse joked with reporters in New York that the guard out of Marquette was seemingly taking advice from another Big East product on the Knicks' roster.

"Looks like he's going to the Jalen Brunson school of point guard play," Nurse said of Kolek. "He plays hard, he's athletic, he's confident, doesn't make many mistakes." The championship coach added that he saw a "lot of positives" when reviewing film.

While Kolek might not ascend from second-round pick to MVP candidate in the near future, he is earning his stripes. Brown deployed Kolek alongside Mikal Bridges , OG Anunoby , Karl-Anthony Towns , and Mitchell Robinson in the first half against Philadelphia . The lineup was able to operate more smoothly than ever.

The 76ers' defense respected Kolek as both a driving and shooting threat, preventing aggressive double-teams on Knick drives. This unlocked his true role as a table-setter for the team's offense, which he was drafted to shine in.

New York has time to decide if, or to what extent, they need to upgrade their depth at guard. The team's interest in reserve guards like Jose Alvarado signals a willingness to improve on someone like Kolek.

Will the homegrown Knick's recent play be enough to keep him out of trade talks – or will it just further convince an opposing team that they should take a swing?

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