In Game 1 as the Knicks mounted a 21-0 run in the fourth quarter, scoring 40 points in the period to turn around an eight-point deficit, Brunson scored 12 points, but Cam Payne had 11, Josh Hart had eight and Towns chipped in with seven.

The Knicks were 19-12 in clutch games this season, the fifth-highest winning percentage in the league. Jalen Brunson was the reason for that (the team was 17-11 in the clutch games he played). Brunson averaged an NBA-best 5.

Knicks star Jalen Brunson was named the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year, finishing ahead of the Nuggets' Nikola Jokic and the Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards in voting.