How Knicks’ Jalen Brunson ‘flipped switch’ to deliver signature clutch comeback vs. Rockets

NEW YORK – Jalen Brunson was the NBA’s 2025 Clutch Player of the Year for a reason. On Saturday night against the Houston Rockets, he added to his crunch-time résumé by putting the finishing touches on New York’s 18-point comeback. It took Brunson until about halfway through the third quarter to make his first field goal, but the final six minutes of the fourth quarter were his show.

New York reduced Houston’s lead in the first half of the fourth quarter with Brunson on the bench. The guard entered the game with 6:27 left, shooting 4-4 from the floor and dropping in a lead-taking mid-range jump shot with 29.5 seconds left. That was the guard’s 14th game-tying or go-ahead make since he joined the Knicks’ roster, good for second in the NBA in that span.

Brunson is behind just DeMar DeRozan in that regard, according to ESPN. The superstar guard told reporters after the game that, despite the make-or-miss reputation of the sport, his fourth-quarter masterpiece was about a change in approach and not just variance.

“I didn’t like how I was playing and saw that I had to switch it, that simple. It has nothing to do with shooting. It’s the mentality of trying to get downhill and making plays. And not being hesitant and not being passive. If there are mistakes, they’re aggressive mistakes. They want you to be on your heels. And I feel like in the first few quarters I was,” the Knicks’ captain told the media on Saturday.

Brown says Knicks “have to be better” after sneaking by Rockets

Reporters asked head coach Mike Brown about his group’s propensity to play down to their competition and flip the proverbial “switch” when needed. He said after the game that while he’s coached teams that could “flip the switch,” like the Golden State Warriors groups that featured Durant, they were unique situations he isn’t counting on replicating in New York.

“We found a way. But we have to be better,” Brown said.

The organization chose this coach to lead this group because of their focus on the team’s process, regardless of the results. Sunday night’s tilt in Chicago will bring the weekend’s back-to-back to a close. After that, the Knicks will have 24 regular-season games left. Brown, and his players will spend them honing that very process – trying to strike as close to perfection as possible.

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