Knicks have Jalen Brunson, and Pistons don't, and that's the difference

Billy Heyen

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Knicks have Jalen Brunson, and Pistons don't, and that's the difference image

With the game on the line, the New York Knicks had only one correct option.

Give the ball to Jalen Brunson and get out of the dang way.

That's how this game works, this brilliant game of basketball, when the game and the series and the season are all on the line.

Let the best player you've got cook.

And when that best player is Brunson, he delivers.

Just check out his game-winning 3-pointer on Thursday night to eliminate the Pistons and advance to a second-round clash with the Celtics.

That crossover snatchback dribble put Ausar Thompson on skates. Of course Brunson finished it with a swish to give himself a 40-piece on the night.

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Brunson had already saved the Knicks in this series.

He looked to be done for, absolute toast, when he rolled his ankle terribly a couple games ago.

But he came back in, scored 16 points in 10 minutes on a bum ankle, and kept the Knicks pushing onward.

And now this.

Brunson has more 30-point, 10-assist games in his playoff career than the rest of the Knicks franchise has combined. Add in a shot like this, and you might have the greatest playoff performer in the history of this storied franchise.

Old heads might disagree, but Brunson's got a game for the old heads. He's deliberate, and pretty-much grounded, and much more crafty than explosive.

But he's good. My goodness, he's good.

Smooth and slick and silky and all of the above all at once, all night long, enough to hold off the on-the-rise Pistons.

And the story wouldn't be complete without this shot, the shot of Brunson's career, the ankle-breaker that sent every Detroit fan in that road building home in a bad mood.

Brunson is the best player the Knicks have and one of the best players they've ever had.

And when you've got a guy like that on your team, you've always got a chance.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle