Mike Brown defends disastrous Jalen Brunson-Karl-Anthony Towns decision after Knicks’ Game 2 collapse

Mike Brown is drawing heavy criticism for his lineup decisions during the New York Knicks’ Game 2 collapse vs. the Atlanta Hawks. The Knicks spent nearly 12 minutes without Jalen Brunson or Karl-Anthony Towns on the court during the 107-106 defeat. While his team was outscored by seven points during that span, Brown defended the decision postgame.

“I don’t think [the game got away there]. We’ve played that lineup quite a bit since the end of the season, and that lineup’s been pretty good,” the Knicks coach said. “We weren’t good tonight, and we turned the ball over a few too many times during that period. But we had opportunities where our starters were in and we were up eight to 10 points, and Atlanta closed it. So I wouldn’t say that specific lineup caused [the loss].”

The numbers back up Brown’s assessment. New York posted a 1.74 net rating across 472 regular-season minutes without Brunson and Towns on the floor, per pbpstats.com.

Mike Brown, Karl-Anthony Towns defend Knicks’ lineup decisions during Game 2 loss

The Knicks led 96-87 when Brunson and Towns checked in with 7:56 left in the fourth quarter. However, they were outscored 20-10 with their starters on the floor in the final minutes. Brown’s squad shot 3-of-16 from the field while allowing Atlanta to shoot 9-of-12 during the game-deciding stretch.

Towns defended his head coach’s lineup choices following the loss.

“We trust any one of our guys in this locker room to be in that game at any time,” he said. “The time when we were off the court wasn’t when we lost. It was the time when we were on the court at the end, and they found a way to make shots. So it’s on us as starters and me and JB to make it tougher on them.”

Karl-Anthony Towns on spending time with Jalen Brunson both on the floor and on the bench in Game 2

"We trust any one of our guys in this locker room to be in that game at any time. What I do know is the time we were off the court wasn't when we lost" pic.twitter.com/34GdbWebfF

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 21, 2026

Towns played 34 minutes during the loss, while Brunson played 35. That’s nearly the same amount of run they saw during the Knicks’ 113-102 victory in Game 1.

Brown has consistently sat both Brunson and Towns at the start of the second and fourth quarters, rather than staggering them to keep one on the court. The Knicks led by nine to start the second quarter on Monday before the Hawks went on a 13-3 run with Brunson and Towns on the bench. They led by 12 to start the fourth quarter but saw the lead trimmed to nine by the time Brunson and Towns checked back in with eight minutes remaining.

Mike Brown’s next opportunity to rethink his lineup strategy will come on Thursday during Game 3 in Atlanta.

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