And while Brunson was a less splashy addition than Mitchell would have been, he has excelled along with his recent team. Heading into Tuesday’s game, he was averaging 22.5 points and 6.3 assists. In January, he had averaged 28.3 points a game, and scored greater than 30 five times, including a 44-point effort in an in depth loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
“One thing I’ve learned and stayed consistent with is regardless of what happens outside those lines, nothing really affects me,” Brunson said. He added, “Obviously playing in Recent York it’s a much bigger stage, eyes all the time on you, but I just try my best not to fret about that.”
Along with his help, the Knicks won eight consecutive games in December, climbing from tenth place within the East to sixth during that streak.
There have been lulls, too. Tuesday’s win snapped a four-game losing streak, and the Knicks are determining methods to fill a hole left by their injured starting center Mitchell Robinson.
It’s all still a piece in progress, but Tuesday night they closed out a game, where on other nights they may not have. They fought back after falling behind by 8 points within the third quarter.
“The way you get the urgency to get that done?” Thibodeau pondered, rhetorically, after the sport. “To not get discouraged, to only get more determined.”
As Thibodeau sees it, the reply is a concentrate on little unglamorous things — securing an offensive rebound, going after a loose ball, deflecting a pass.
“Just keep concentrating on the advance; everyone put the team first,” Thibodeau said. “And we all know that is — we’ve got an extended approach to go.”
