Knicks Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns find…
ATLANTA — There have been only about 3 ¹/₂ minutes remaining in a sport that the Knicks felt that they had to win to construct momentum and confidence.
They trailed the Hawks by 5. They had just 92 factors. They needed offense in a half-court set because the sport had slowed down.
Just just like the playoffs.
And they discovered one thing.
Five instances over their next six possessions — interrupted only by a transition bucket off a turnover — the Knicks ran the same play: Brunson introduced up the ball and gave it to Karl-Anthony Towns, who was on the wing at the 3-point line with a defender pressuring him.
The same spot every time.
From there, choices have been plentiful and, as it turned out, extremely environment friendly.
Jalen Brunson celebrates after hitting a shot during the Knicks’ win over the Hawks on April 6, 2026 in Atlanta. NBAE via Getty Images
Brunson twice hit runners in the lane off give-and-gos; KAT drew a foul after spinning around his draping defender; Brunson hit an open 3-pointer after a dribble handoff because his defender couldn’t get around Towns.
Half of Towns’ six assists have been collected in a 40-second stretch of crunch time. The Knicks went from down 5 to up two, ultimately beating the Hawks 108-105 on Monday night time.
It grew to become an instance of two gifted offensive gamers — KAT and Brunson — working in concord, somewhat than taking turns as that they had for most of this marketing campaign.
“I thought we did a great job [Monday] of utilizing it,” Towns said. “When the sport obtained dicey, the teaching employees and our teammates leaned on us to have that two-man sport show up when we needed it the most. And it labored.
Karl-Anthony Towns celebrates during the Knicks’ win over the Hawks on April 6, 2026 in Atlanta. Getty Images
“We have a good rapport where I think that, what you saw at the end of the game with me and J.B., allows him not to have so much pressure on him and allows me to help him out and do what I do best — cause gravity, which allows him to get a step on a defender, and that’s all he needs to score. It gave us a chance for him to play one-on-one and also get a step on the defender and give him some of the best looks of the night.”
Towns was giddy after Monday’s win and clearly excited about the play calling. He and Brunson mixed for 51 factors and 19 assists, partaking more often with the pick-and-rolls that have been always projected as key to producing a highly effective offensive duo. It wasn’t just down the stretch Monday.
“It’s huge to know a guy like Jalen can shoot and score the way he does. On top of that, he’s crafty. He’s crafty with the ball, crafty without the ball,” coach Mike Brown said. “Having KAT as a passer [makes it tougher on the opposition]. On top of that, KAT’s a great shooter. So you put those two guys in space in a two-man game, and teams gotta make decisions. Both those guys came through.”
However, the Knicks have gotten away from that two-man sport for a lot of this season. Perhaps not coincidentally, Brunson and Towns both produced down years statistically — particularly Towns.
Monday grew to become a reminder of the chances with the playoffs around the nook.
“Playoffs are going to come down to a possession game,” Brunson said. “It’s real important for us.”
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