Death, taxes and long, physical defenders guarding Jalen Brunson.
That’s the plan opponents have adopted to slow down the Knicks’ star guard — whose singular scoring propelled a battered New York team to 50 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference last season.
And to some extent, it worked. Losses to the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks showed that cutting the head of the Knicks’ offensive snake is a proven formula for victory.
“He’s going to see that,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game. “You have to be smart.”
The New Orleans Pelicans tried to follow suit. This backfired spectacularly.
Brunson started slowly in Saturday’s game, held in check early by first-team defensive end Herb Jones and dynamic combo guard Dejounte Murray. But then the Knicks All-Star exploded for a game-high 39 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field, fueling a 104-93 victory at the Smoothie King Center — New York’s 13th victory in its last 17 games .
“A fire lit and I found a way to make some shots and turn a defense into a good offense,” Brunson said during his closing interview. “And from there, obviously, we found a way.”
Brunson’s explosion was a true lesson in resilience.
He scored just six points in the first quarter and four more in the second before lighting up New Orleans for 29 in the second half.
“In our second quarter we struggled and then we looked,” Thibodeau said. “And then Jalen obviously, the shot that makes and lifts everyone up. We struggled and then found a way to win.
Sixteen of those points came in the third quarter alone, where Brunson made four three-pointers to help erase a 14-point deficit.
Brunson admitted he’s seeing a change in how defenses protect him this season.
“A little bit. It’s different every night,” he said. “I have to stay focused, knowing that it’s not always the same, so I can’t get frustrated thinking it will be the same or that it will be easy. I have to involve my teammates and stay aggressive.
It was Brunson’s 62nd 30-point game since joining the Knicks two summers ago. He now ranks seventh in franchise history in that category, just five behind Willis Reed, with Patrick Ewing (203) and Carmelo Anthony (108) leading the list.
At this rate, Brunson could surpass Melo by next season.
Even against defenses determined to frustrate him, Brunson continues to find ways to dominate. Against the Pelicans, he targeted mismatches, ramping up his aggression when facing defenders not named Jones or Murray. His 7-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc was another dagger — he entered the game shooting a career-high 43.1 percent from three-point range.
“You have to read the game, and once I saw one go in, I took another look and knew it was time to go,” Brunson said. “We took the lead, and from then on we played well with the lead.”
Brunson’s exploits were desperately needed. The Knicks struggled after Karl-Anthony Towns struggled early. Towns picked up two fouls in the first quarter and logged just 42 seconds in the second half. He finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, an unusually low-scoring game in a season where he broke out scoring in New York.
“It was a challenge. The foul trouble with KAT kind of took us out of rhythm and then we were careless with the ball,” Thibodeau said. “It was a problem, but then I thought that Mikal [Bridges] I went there, and him and OG [Anunoby] defensively in the third [quarter] were great.
“The big problem is KAT’s mistakes. I want to take a look at it. I think we can resolve some of them with discipline. And so it took us out of our rhythm. We just have to be better with it.
New York struggled from the start against the worst team in the Western Conference, tied at 28 entering the second quarter.
The Pelicans, without Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, took a 14-point lead midway through the third quarter before Brunson flipped the switch. The Knicks outscored New Orleans 33-26 in the third period, then held the Pelicans to just 18 points in the final period.
The Knicks, who scored just 45 points in the first half, scored 59 over the final two quarters, with nearly half coming from Brunson alone.
Josh Hart returned to the lineup after missing Thursday’s game at Minnesota for personal reasons and delivered a versatile stat line: 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block.
Bridges added 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting, and all five Knicks starters scored in double figures — a necessity considering the bench managed just six points total. Still, Jericho Sims and Precious Achiuwa contributed on the glass, combining for 15 rebounds off the bench.
“When Jericho was there, his defense had a big impact on the match,” Thibodeau said.
The Knicks (18-10) now return to Madison Square Garden, where they will host the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday before hosting Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Christmas Day.
“There’s always room for improvement, but I think we’re on the right track,” Brunson said. “We find ways to win…and most importantly, we stay united.”
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