Jalen Brunson Leads Knicks to Fifth Straight Win

Another Stellar Performance From the Bench

Mike Brown must be a breath of fresh air for the New York Knicks fanbase. So far during his first season with the team, the bench utilization has been magnificent. The bench has been performing well for New York with the opportunities given to them. Jordan Clarkson and Miles McBride each nailed three three pointers. Josh Hart gave it his all, per usual, finishing with eight points, four rebounds and eight assists. One being a beautiful no-look bounce pass to a cutting OG Anunoby for the slam. Clarkson also made history moving to 10th on the all-time points scored off the bench surpassing the "Microwave" Vinnie Johnson.

Points Off Turnovers

The New York Knicks defense played fairly aggressive against the banged up Grizzlies. The wing duo of OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges completely hounded the Grizzlies backcourt and were extremely active in the passing lanes. The Knicks defense forced the Grizzlies to turnover the ball a total of 22 times. The turnovers lead to 33 points for the Knicks in an overall good performance on both sides for the red-hot Knicks. Mikal Bridges lead the Knicks defense in steals, swiping four while Karl-Anthony Towns had three for himself.

Franchise Record 55 Three Pointers Attempted

It's no mystery Mike Brown wants his team to shoot more threes, which was showcased against Memphis. The Knicks offense attempted a franchise record 55 threes in their win. All but one player that saw minutes for New York drained at least one three pointer. Jalen Brunson lead the charge with six from behind the arc. Mikal Bridges continued his hot start from three with three of his own, matching Clarkson and McBride. Landry Shamet added two of his own and Karl-Anthony Towns, after attempting zero against Brooklyn, drained three. OG Anunoby cooled down from his hot start, struggling from three against Memphis, finishing 1-9 from beyond the arc. Anunoby still finished with a solid 16 points.

Containing Ja Morant

The Knicks most likely had one guy on their scouting report. All eyes were on Grizzlies star, Ja Morant. The Knicks made it clear, if anyone was going to beat them, it was not going to be the former all-star. The Knicks defense made things very uncomfortable for Morant, giving him space from the three and playing tight on drives and penetrations. New York's defense forced Ja Morant to turn the ball over a total of eight times. Although Morant did have a double-double, finishing with 16 points and 10 assists, he had trouble shooting the ball efficiently. Morant shot 4/14 from the field and 2-6 from three. Job well done by Mike Brown's staff and the Knicks defense.

Jalen Brunson

Jalen Brunson did what MVP-caliber players in this league typically do, takeover when it matters most. The Grizzlies were able to cut the lead down to 10, but the Knicks did not sweat a thing because they knew just like everyone watching already new, #11 will finish the job. Brunson hit a clutch three to give the Knicks a 13-point lead that pretty much iced the game for New York. Brunson, who is labeled as a "free throw merchant" only attempted four free throws against the Grizzlies, knocking down all four. Despite that, Brunson still finished with 32 points on 11-19 shooting and 6-9 from three point range.

Six players finished with double digits in points in a tremendous showing by the Knicks on both sides of the ball. The Knicks offense also scored 130+ points for the third consecutive time, proving the change in the offense is working. The recipe is working for the Knicks, ball movement, less isolation, actual bench minutes and tons of three point shooting. Even with Anunoby having an off-night and Mitchell Robinson resting, the Knicks seemed to not have lost a step.

This win over Memphis is the first of a back-to-back. Next game is against the Orlando Magic, a team that is slowly starting to figure things out. Will the Knicks offense be able to remain this hot?