The New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday, May 21, as Jalen Brunson turned a game plan built to stop him into a showcase of playmaking.
Brunson finished with 19 points and a playoff career-high 14 assists, and Josh Hart led the Knicks with 26 points in the win. Mikal Bridges added 19 and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 18 as New York rolled to its ninth consecutive playoff victory and moved within two wins of the franchise’s first NBA Finals in 27 years.
Game 2 was a study in adjustments. Brunson, who scored 38 in Game 1, was the focus of Cleveland’s defense — the Cavs double-teamed, blitzed and face-guarded him — a tactic that held him to 1-of-7 from three and 7-of-16 overall. After his first basket he missed his next five field-goal attempts and did not score again in the first half, but he accumulated five assists by halftime and finished the second half 6-of-10 for 17 points and nine assists.
“That’s what great players do, right?” said Kenny Atkinson, describing Brunson’s shift from scorer to distributor. “They read the game, and the game dictated that. Obviously, we were loaded up more to him, and he found other guys. … Took away some of his scoring options, blitzed him, gave him different looks. He made the right reads, the right plays.”
Knicks guard Miles McBride summed up the room’s view: “He’s about winning.” McBride added that Brunson’s willingness to surrender shots when doubled — and to find others — “proves that he just wants to win.” Mikal Bridges called the performance “a great message” about how the Knicks can respond when an opponent pins its defense on one player.
On the Cleveland sideline, coach Mike Brown defended the decision to send a second defender at Brunson, saying the strategy was unavoidable. “If you don’t send a second guy at (Brunson), he’s got a pretty good chance at scoring it,” Brown said. “If you send the second guy at him, he’s going to make the game easier for his teammates. He’s going to find them. They just have to step up and make shots.” He added later: “MVP candidate like Jalen is, you gotta make the game easier for everybody else.”
Those competing narratives — Brunson’s selfless adjustment and Cleveland’s wager that New York’s role players would go cold — created the game’s tension. The Cavaliers’ plan worked early in taking away Brunson’s scoring, but the Knicks’ supporting cast answered often enough, and Brunson’s late second-half surge kept New York ahead through the stretch.
Brunson downplayed the drama afterward, framing it as growth. “It’s an advantage for us learning how to play differently,” he said, adding that being able to “adjust and learn on the fly and adjust on the fly is something that we need to continue to get better at.” He also acknowledged the smaller, older influences on his approach: his father Rick Brunson, who worked on his mental edge early in his career, told him bluntly, “He’s better than you. He works harder,” and Brunson said that message “made me want to outwork them.”
The immediate consequence is clear: New York leads the series 2-0 and is two victories from its first Finals appearance in 27 years. The more consequential question is whether Cleveland’s doubling will force the Knicks into repeated tests of their depth — and whether those teammates will keep converting when Brunson draws the extra coverage. For now, Brunson’s blend of scoring and playmaking has given New York the lead; the rest of the run will depend on who else can make the open shot.
For background on Brunson’s recent run, see coverage of his 38-point game in Game 1 and more about his family and preparation: Brunson’s 38 lifts Knicks past Cavaliers 115-104 in OT rally, Jalen Brunson Wife: Ali Marks Brunson, the physical therapist by his side during the run, and the Knicks schedule and season context.
