The Knicks didn’t need long to steady themselves, and Jalen Brunson is a big reason why the noise around them has started to fade.
New York opened the season with three straight losses, which was enough for some people to jump to the usual early conclusions. That chatter has cooled off fast.
The Knicks have won five of their last six and now sit at 5-4, with three straight victories behind them. Saturday night’s 109-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers was another clean example of why the panic felt premature.
Brunson was at the center of it again. He scored 31 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out nine assists while shooting 12-of-25 from the field and 3-of-7 from 3-point range. It was his second straight game with 30 points, and he looked every bit like the player who drives everything New York wants to do.
Karl-Anthony Towns has been a beast this year, but the Knicks still run through Brunson. He remains the head of the snake, the one who sets the tone and keeps the whole thing moving.
That’s why the early “championship hangover” talk never really held up. It was always too soon to bury a team 10 games into the season, especially one with Brunson leading the way. He already proved last season that he can carry the Knicks into the highest-level conversations, and now he’s reminding everybody of that again.
The doubters can keep talking. Brunson is busy making them look silly.
In Other News...
Knicks Suddenly Have A Jose Alvarado Problem Off The Bench
Jose Alvarado was supposed to be part of the Knicks familiar second-unit edge after helping fuel last seasons Finals run, but the early part of 2026-27 has looked different. His minutes have dipped, and backup point guard Tyler Kolek has started to carve out the role with steady playmaking and a strong assist-to-turnover ratio, giving coach Mike Brown a reason to lean in that direction in recent games.
For a bench already crowded with guards, the situation adds another layer to a roster that may need some trimming or rebalancing as the season moves along. Alvarados contract makes him a movable piece if the Knicks decide they need to address the size of the second unit, and his reduced role is suddenly part of a larger question about how Brown wants to shape the back end of the rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Towns Just Added Real Tension To The Knicks' Fast Start
Karl-Anthony Towns has given the Knicks an early-season subplot to monitor even as the team has come out of the gate strong. He said he was disappointed that extension talks were ended before the season, a notable wrinkle for a player who has still been producing at a high level and fitting into New Yorks fast start.
For the Knicks, the timing matters because any hint of unease around a key front-line piece tends to linger, especially when the team is trying to build momentum early. Towns has kept his play steady, but the contract conversation now sits in the background, and it adds a layer of tension to a season that otherwise has been moving in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Enter Heated Cavs Rematch With One Key Balance Shift
The Cavaliers and Knicks are set for their first meeting since the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, and the timing gives the matchup a little extra edge. Cleveland is folding the game into its celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the 2016 NBA championship, while New York arrives with the kind of star power that makes this feel like more than a routine regular-season stop. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson remain central to the Knicks case, and the Cavaliers will lean on Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell in a game that should carry a playoff-like tone.
Jarrett Allens status is one of the injury notes worth watching on Clevelands side, while Sam Merrill is among the Knicks-related health considerations heading in. Even with those questions hanging over the matchup, the bigger picture is clear enough: these teams know each other, the memories are still fresh, and this rematch has the ingredients to feel like a measuring stick for both sides. [Read more 🡒]