Jalen Brunson belongs in the NBA Most Valuable Player conversation.
That’s the view of New York Knicks coach Mike Brown, whose team is preparing to host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday in a battle between two of the top clubs in the Eastern Conference.
Brunson poured in 37 points on Friday — marking his ninth 30-plus point total in 16 outings this season — to lift New York to a 118-111 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
“It’s early (in the season), but he should be talked about right now as a potential MVP,” Brown said of Brunson, who is averaging a career-best 29.1 points per game. “There’s not enough chatter — which it’s early, so I’m not throwing a fit — but the guy had 37 (Friday) on 12-of-21 … Hopefully you guys and your peers will start really talking the right way about this young man in terms of him having some MVP talk, because that’s what he is.
“We’re about playing the best basketball right now, we’re trending in the right direction and he’s the engine behind it. To me, he just did what he’s supposed to do, which equates to him being the MVP of the league.”
Josh Hart, who collected 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists against Milwaukee, also heaped praise on Brunson.
“Obviously, that’s my guy,” Hart said. “We love games when he’s able to get it going like that. That’s obviously an added bonus that we’ve got somebody that can do that.”
Hart’s playmaking proved crucial down the stretch as the Bucks blitzed Brunson in the fourth quarter to force the ball out of his hands.
That extra responsibility sits just fine with Hart.
“I love it,” he said. “That’s a position that I’m extremely comfortable in … Normally we get good looks when that happens.”
The Knicks will chase a fourth straight victory when they face the Raptors, whose nine-game winning streak ended in Charlotte on Saturday with a 118-111 overtime loss to the Hornets.
Scottie Barnes posted 30 points and 12 rebounds, Immanuel Quickley paired 22 points with 10 assists, and Brandon Ingram added 22.
Tiredness set in as the game dragged past regulation, a worrying sign ahead of the second leg of a back-to-back.
“We did look a little bit fatigued there in overtime, but it was the same for them (Charlotte),” Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said. “That can never be something for us that we’ll look at as an excuse.”
Ingram, the Raptors’ leading scorer this season averaging 21.9 points, notched all of his points against the Hornets in the first three quarters.
He went scoreless on 0-of-9 shooting across the fourth period and overtime as Charlotte repeatedly trapped and double-teamed him.
“We’ve got to do a better job of — when they double-team Ingram — just try to find those cuts, find those outlets, (and see) how we can help him out in those situations,” Barnes said. “We had them right there and they made some big shots as well. … We’ve got to close out that game. We had to close out that game.”
Toronto has lost its past eight meetings with New York. The last time the Raptors beat the Knicks was Jan. 22, 2023.
