<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-edie-falco-joel-embiid-jalen-brunson-2024-nba-playoffs');   ga('set', 'title', 'Edie Falco nearly fought Joel Embiid for Jalen Brunson during 2024 NBA playoffs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/76ers-news-Edie-Falco-reveals-why-she-nearly-charged-at-Joel-Embiid-during-2024-NBA-playoffs.jpg"></figure><h1>Edie Falco nearly fought Joel Embiid for Jalen Brunson during 2024 NBA playoffs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-24T22:02:50-08:00">December 24th, 10:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-24T22:02:50-08:00">December 24th, 10:02pm</time><address><a>Matty Breisch</a>Matty Breisch is a multifaceted writer who specializes in NFL and WWE content at ClutchPoints. He can be read at Heavy, FanSided, The Needle Drop, Philadelphia Sports Network, and right here at ClutchPoints. Are you ready to read about football and wrestling? Well, you've come to the right place.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Celebrity</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When it comes to the NBA as a whole, few players are as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/olympics-news-joel-embiid-100-real-about-why-boos-paris-dont-bother-him" rel="noopener">unpopular outside of their fanbases as Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid</a>, especially <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-ny-fans-rip-joel-embiid-2-word-nsfw-chant" rel="noopener">when it comes to the New York Knicks</a>.</p><p>Need proof? Look no further than Edie Falco, the actress famous for playing Carmella in <i>The Sopranos</i> and Nurse Jackie in her namesake show, who <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/12/24/sports/sopranos-star-edie-falco-blasts-76ers-joel-embiid-hes-mean/" rel="noopener">nearly charged “The Process” for elbowing</a> Jalen Brunson during the playoffs earlier this year, as she noted on the <i>Roommates Show</i>.</p><p>“Joel Embiid, he’s mean. He like elbowed you in a game last year and I was going to go after him. I mean that’s how bad it was,” Falco said via the NY Post. “And then I think I’ve seen you guys play since then and you guys are all like cool with each other. I’m like, ‘You don’t hold a grudge?'”</p><p>Well, as it turns out, Brunson doesn’t, as he noted in his response.</p><p>“I don’t hold grudges, for the most part,” Brunson explained. “Yeah, I hold grudges, who am I to lie? But I’ve known Joel from before I even got in the league. I’ve met him a couple times. It’s just respect there. I think there’s a certain line where there’s respect, and you’re all competing, and once it’s done, it’s good. I wouldn’t say it’s cool; I would say it’s good.”</p><p>Embiid, take note: if you ever get into it against Brunson and “Don’t Stop Believin” starts playing on the arena’s PA, you’d better get your behind to the locker room, as Falco may not be as restrained the second time around.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><h2><b>Edie Falco also isn’t okay with how the Knicks make trades</b></h2><p>Later in her appearance on the podcast, Falco commented on the Knicks’ trading activities, which she was not a fan of at first. While she has grown to like the new guys, she wishes the team would somehow get the fans involved, as they enjoyed the chemistry the group shared in 2024-24.</p><p>“You would think I would be better at managing trades than I am. I don’t know who’s in charge of making these decisions, but they gotta talk to the fans. A bunch of us really fell apart this last one. I’m coming around, the new guys are great,” Falco declared.</p><p>“You’re a Knick fan, but what does it mean to be a Knick fan? Just that they play in the Garden? It’s the guys. It’s the guys you get attached to. It’s the way they play together and the interactions and the inside jokes and whatever you guys all have that reads. You get rid of a couple of those guys, I was like ‘Are you f**king kidding me? You can’t do that.’ It’s not healthy, man. I have kids and a life and stuff, and I absolutely fell apart.”</p><p>Should the Knicks get in contact with the fans before they make a trade? No, no offense, Nurse Jackie, but that sounds like the absolute worst idea imaginable for a number of reasons. Still, good on the veteran actor for asking, nonetheless, as any true fan would probably do the same.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Edie Falco nearly fought Joel Embiid for Jalen Brunson during 2024 NBA playoffs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-honest-take-tom-thibodeau-salty-night-vs-raptors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’ Jalen Brunson gets honest take from Tom Thibodeau after quiet night');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Knicks-news-Jalen-Brunson-gets-honest-take-from-Tom-Thibodeau-after-salty-night-vs-Raptors.jpg"></figure><h1>Knicks’ Jalen Brunson gets honest take from Tom Thibodeau after quiet night</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-24T00:08:06-08:00">December 24th, 12:08am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-24T00:08:06-08:00">December 24th, 12:08am</time><address><a>Dylan Fine</a>Dylan Fine focuses on the NFL and NCAA Football for ClutchPoints, in addition to working on the meme team. Dylan is a graduate of Georgetown University and has covered various topics ranging from local politics in the DMV region with DC Voter For Animals to live sporting events in the Long Island and Rochester areas with The Southampton Press and Pickin’Splinters. When he isn't working, he's usually running in preparation for the next annual Turkey Trot.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau gave an honest take on Jalen Brunson’s performance against the Raptors. The superstar point guard had a rare, quiet outing in the 139-125 win. Brunson scored twelve points on 4 out of 13 field shooting while recording seven assists and two steals. New York is on a four-game winning streak following its disappointing <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-biggest-issues-to-fix-after-nba-cup-flop-vs-hawks">In-Season Tournament elimination by the Atlanta Hawks</a>.</p><p>Thibodeau praised Brunson’s performance on Monday night, noting that the point guard’s quiet shift reflects his ability to adapt to the game’s flow. The Knicks head coach <a href="https://x.com/sny_knicks/status/1871394329131901405" rel="noopener">described this approach</a> in his postgame press conference with SNY TV.</p><p>“He’s (Brunson) gonna do whatever the game needs to win. So I thought, you know, we built a big lead, and Jalen doesn’t fight the game. He reads the game extremely well, and we got some guys going early. I thought he got the guys into a real rhythm. I thought KAT had a big game, and OG was terrific on both ends. Then, you know, Mikal played a really solid game, and when Cam came in with Deuce, they gave us a big spark.”</p><h2><b>The Knicks look to be rounding into form</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/OG-Anunoby.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Tom Thibodeau’s comments on Brunson’s adaptability showcase the superstar’s most underrated trait. The All-NBA point guard’s selflessness is what is starting to elevate the Knicks as this season goes on. Last year, New York was more limited on the scoring front, especially when <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-julius-randle-season-ending-shoulder-surgery">Julius Randle suffered a season-ending should injury</a>. Because of this, Jalen had to take on more of an isolation-heavy, score-first role in the offense. The Knicks, therefore, had the second-lowest assist percentage in the league.</p><p>For the 2024-2025 season, New York has become way more offensively dynamic with the additions of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. Brunson now has reduced his usage rate and is averaging a career-high 7.6 assists per game. The Knicks are, therefore, up to twelfth in assist percentage and have the second-highest offensive rating in the league.</p><p>Jalen’s efficiency has also peaked in his third season with New York. He is currently shooting 49.3% from the field and 44.6% from three. In addition, over the past two years, Brunson has shown that he gets better as the season progresses. Barring injury, this trend should continue into 2025.</p><p>Overall, the Knicks’ ability to win different types of games will be key going forward. New York has already shown that it can beat any franchise in the league when it’s in an offensive rhythm. However, the squad must continue to learn how to win ugly to emerge as a preeminent favorite for the title.</p><p>Fortunately, as it has been on this streak, New York is getting healthier with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-ny-agrees-to-terms-with-veteran-shooter-after-injury-recovery">Landry Shamet’s return</a> and Mitchell Robinson inching closer to making his season debut. The Knicks need to continue this momentum, which, if they do, will be largely sparked by their star point guard.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks’ Jalen Brunson gets honest take from Tom Thibodeau after quiet night

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/wwe-news-triple-h-reveals-initial-roman-reigns-impression-jalen-brunson-josh-hart');   ga('set', 'title', 'Triple H reveals initial Roman Reigns impression to Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/WWE-news-Triple-H-reveals-initial-Roman-Reigns-impression-to-Jalen-Brunson-Josh-Hart.jpg"></figure><h1>Triple H reveals initial Roman Reigns impression to Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-16T17:33:54-08:00">December 16th, 5:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-16T17:33:54-08:00">December 16th, 5:33pm</time><address><a>Matty Breisch</a>Matty Breisch is a multifaceted writer who specializes in NFL and WWE content at ClutchPoints. He can be read at Heavy, FanSided, Philadelphia Sports Network, and right here at ClutchPoints. Are you ready to read about football and wrestling? Well, you've come to the right place.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When he initially broke out onto the WWE main roster scene and especially after the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wwe-seth-rollins-still-supports-ex-shield-member-jon-moxley" rel="noopener">desolation of The Shield</a>, few fans thought Roman Reigns was going to become the promotion’s next great star.</p><p>Sure, someone was going to have to take up the mantle for John Cena, especially as he became more and more involved in the Hollywood acting game, but goodness, he wasn’t even the most popular member of his faction, so the idea of turning him into the next Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson just because of their familial ties didn’t sit right with the fans booing him on the regular.</p><p>And yet, if you as Paul “Triple H” Levesque about his initial opinions on the “Tribal Chief,” which Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart did on their <i>The Roomates Show</i> podcast, the answer couldn’t be any more different, with “The Game” recalling a conversation with Dusty Rhodes that <a href="https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/triple-h-when-i-first-met-roman-reigns-i-told-dusty-rhodes-if-he-s-not-biggest-star-we-don-t-know" rel="noopener">laid out much of his future success in the squared circle</a>.</p><p>“The first time I ever met Roman Reigns, I had just taken over and started what would become our developmental system, and he had just transitioned over from football to being in our developmental system. The first day I met him, I sat down with him for 20 minutes just to get to know him a little bit,” Levesque explained via Fightful.</p><p>“Walked out of the interview and, at the time, Dusty Rhode was working in developmental with me, I walked up to Dusty and said, ‘If that kid is not the biggest star we ever have in ten years, I don’t know what we’re doing. Holy sh*t. He has everything.’ When he walked in the room, you couldn’t help but look at him and go, ‘Who is that?’ He has an innate X-factor charisma. Sometimes that happens, sometimes it’s the guy you don’t see it in them, ‘He’s good. He’s athletic. He’s this and that,’ but it’s really the character stuff. Sometimes it clicks, and sometimes it doesn’t.”</p><p>Now granted, as many WWE fans of the late-Vince McMahon era will happily attest, Reigns’ success is reliant on having good writing to back him up, as when he was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wwe-la-knight-just-buried-roman-reigns-ahead-of-their-wwe-championship-match-at-crown-jewel-suffering-succotash">spitting off lines straight out of a Looney Tunes skit</a> or being forced to eat dog food, he wasn’t exactly popular. Still, part of opportunity is taking advantage of what you are given, and when Reigns accepted a chance to turn heel alongside Paul Heyman, he ran with it to an incredible degree, turning in the performance of a lifetime with The Bloodline and becoming a Hall of  Fame-caliber performer over his expansive run with the Universal Championship.</p><p>Was the road a little more winding than even Levesque might have expected? Sure, but in the end, he got there, and frankly, that’s all that really matters.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Triple H reveals initial Roman Reigns impression to Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-responds-to-isaiah-hartensteins-fiery-trae-young-comments');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’ Jalen Brunson responds to Isaiah Hartenstein’s fiery Trae Young comments');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jalen-Brunson-responds-to-Isaiah-Hartensteins-fiery-Trae-Young-comments.jpg"></figure><h1>Knicks’ Jalen Brunson responds to Isaiah Hartenstein’s fiery Trae Young comments</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-15T20:46:05-08:00">December 15th, 8:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-15T20:46:05-08:00">December 15th, 8:46pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Hawks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Atlanta Hawks star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-trae-young-true-story-dice-celly-vs-knicks">Trae Young caused a bit of a fuss</a> last Wednesday when he rolled some imaginary dice right on the New York Knicks’ center-court logo at Madison Square Garden after sealing a 108-100 win to book their trip to Las Vegas for the semifinals of the NBA Cup. When asked about Young’s celebration, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-reacts-trae-young-rolling-dice-logo">Jalen Brunson took the high road</a>, conceding that if the Knicks wanted to prevent the Hawks star from puffing his chest, then they should have won the game.</p><p>But for former Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein, he says that he would have done something to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-isaiah-hartensteins-strong-comments-after-trae-young-rolls-dice-on-new-york-logo">let Young and the Hawks know</a> that they aren’t to be trifled with. Hartenstein said that if he were still with the team, he “wouldn’t have let him roll the dice on midcourt” because he’s “always got love for New York”.</p><p>Nonetheless, Brunson believes that Hartenstein’s <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/12/14/sports/jalen-brunsons-blunt-response-to-isaiah-hartensteins-knicks-dig/" rel="noopener">comments are moot anyway</a>, as he’s now with the Oklahoma City Thunder — the team that will be facing the Milwaukee Bucks in the final of the NBA Cup.</p><p>“Isaiah isn’t here,” Brunson said, via Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “Do I have an issue with [Young’s celebration]? Yeah, but he won, they won. So why put in false and fake energy to do something like that, when you could’ve done that to try and win the game? That’s just my point of view on it.”</p><h2><b>Trae Young may have won the battle against the Knicks, but the Hawks lost the war</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jalen-Brunson-driving-past-Trae-Young.jpg"><figcaption>© Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The major comfort for the Knicks in the aftermath of Trae Young’s dice-roll celebration is that the Hawks didn’t exactly progress too far following their quarterfinal win in the NBA Cup. Atlanta saw their run in the tournament come to an end at the hands of the Bucks, 110-102, this past Saturday, and it seems as though Young’s roll of the dice at the craps table ended in a loss.</p><p>Nevertheless, Young was well within his rights to celebrate however he pleased; it’s not as if he did something disrespectful to the Knicks logo. He simply rolled some imaginary dice because he was going to Las Vegas, but it did not help matters, of course, that the Hawks star might be the most hated current NBA player due to the way he terrorized New York in the 2021 playoffs.</p><p>And if a team wants someone to not celebrate, they better win, which is a tough but necessary pill for Brunson and the Knicks to swallow.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks’ Jalen Brunson responds to Isaiah Hartenstein’s fiery Trae Young comments

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-reacts-trae-young-rolling-dice-logo');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’ Jalen Brunson reacts to Trae Young rolling dice on logo');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jalen-Brunson-reacts-to-Trae-Young-rolling-dice-on-logo.jpg"></figure><h1>Knicks’ Jalen Brunson reacts to Trae Young rolling dice on logo</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-11T20:41:25-08:00">December 11th, 8:41pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-11T20:41:25-08:00">December 11th, 8:41pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor and Washington Wizards/Mystics reporter for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Atlanta Hawks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-trae-young-trolls-knicks-after-eliminating-them-from-nba-cup">Knicks have a Trae Young problem</a>. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-ny-fans-send-hawks-trae-young-message">Atlanta Hawks’ superstar keeps cooking them</a>, and he even rolled dice on the Knicks’ logo at half-court of Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.</p><p>New York franchise jewel Jalen Brunson <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1867045968203616321" rel="noopener">sounded off on</a> Young’s antics post-game, via SNY.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"We should win the game if we don't want him to do that."</p><p>Jalen Brunson on Trae Young rolling dice on the Knicks logo.</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/sny_knicks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sny_knicks</a>)<a href="https://t.co/V0SuxcZx2M">pic.twitter.com/V0SuxcZx2M</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1867045968203616321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“We should win the game if we don’t want him to do that,” the Villanova alum said.</p><p>Young’s Las Vegas-themed celebration, an ode to where the NBA Cup semifinals will be held, c<a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1867037582020006195?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet" rel="noopener">an be found below</a>, via Bleacher Report.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trae pretends to shoot dice on the Knicks logo 👀</p><p>He’s ready for Vegas 😅 <a href="https://t.co/bABUjhtkHH">pic.twitter.com/bABUjhtkHH</a></p><p>— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1867037582020006195?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Young registered 22 points, 11 assists, and five rebounds in the Hawks’ 108-100 victory over the Knicks, sending them through to the NBA Cup semifinals. The three-time All-Star averages 25.4 points and 9.6 assists against New York and led Atlanta to an upset series win over the Orange and Blue in the first round of the 2021 playoffs, famously bowing to the Madison Square Garden crowd after the fifth and final contest.</p><p>What’s next for the Knicks now that they’re out of the NBA Cup?</p><h2><b>Knicks must finish strong in December</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jalen-Brunson-looks-to-pass-the-ball-while-dribbling-along-the-baseline-against-the-Orlando-Magic_d32f68.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Despite the loss, New York is still fourth in the Eastern Conference at 15-10, one game behind the Orlando Magic for third. Coincidentally, the Knicks play in Orlando on Sunday evening.</p><p>That contest kicks off a three-game road trip, capped off with a matchup against the 5-20 New Orleans Pelicans. However, New York hasn’t been invincible against subpar squads this year, as it recently lost to the Detroit Pistons (10-15) and the Utah Jazz (5-18).</p><p>Going forward, the Knicks must not play down to the level of their competition. The red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers already have a six-game lead over them for first place in the East, and that gap will only grow if New York keeps getting upset by below-average opponents.</p><p>With three combined games scheduled against the 7-18 Toronto Raptors and 3-19 Washington Wizards, the Knicks have no excuse to not finish strong in December.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks’ Jalen Brunson reacts to Trae Young rolling dice on logo

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-josh-hart-makes-out-of-pocket-jalen-brunson-gradey-dick-comments');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’  Josh Hart makes out of pocket Jalen Brunson-Gradey Dick comments');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Knicks-news-Josh-Hart-makes-out-of-pocket-Jalen-Brunson-Gradey-Dick-comments.jpg"></figure><h1>Knicks’  Josh Hart makes out of pocket Jalen Brunson-Gradey Dick comments</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-09T21:25:50-08:00">December 9th, 9:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-10T14:54:03-08:00">December 10th, 2:54pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There is nothing that the New York Knicks would have wanted more on Monday night than to score a victory over the Toronto Raptors to send them off on their merry way en route to their impending NBA Cup clash against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.</p><p>And that’s exactly what they got. Thanks to some clutch heroics from Karl-Anthony Towns, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/raptors-news-scottie-barnes-exits-knicks-game-troubling-injury">Knicks took a 113-108 victory</a> to improve to 15-9 on the season.</p><p>But apparently, according to Knicks forward Josh Hart, star point guard Jalen Brunson had a greater want in mind all night long — <a href="https://x.com/SbondyNBA/status/1866325336427799039" rel="noopener">hilariously invoking</a> Raptors sophomore Gradey Dick’s name in the process of saying what might be one of the most out of pocket things any NBA player has ever said.</p><p>“Second half, Jalen Brunson kept saying, I want Dick. I’ll take Dick,” Hart told reporters postgame, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.</p><p>Hart has always been one of the funniest people in the league. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-josh-harts-hilarious-plan-for-nba-cup-bonus">His deadpan humor</a> is nearly unmatched, and one would have to imagine that the Knicks forward said that about Brunson with a straight face. But Hart hilariously cannot be joking about these matters, especially given the suggestive nature of the Raptors sophomore’s last name.</p><p>For what it’s worth, Dick has embraced jokes regarding his surname in the past. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-raptors-gradey-dick-magic-anthony-black-go-viral-after-hilarious-jersey-exchange">Raptors sophomore accepted a jersey swap</a> with Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black last season, giving birth to one of the wildest and most hilarious moments in NBA history. Thus, it’s guaranteed that Dick’s heart won’t turn hard following Hart’s joke towards Brunson.</p><p>It’s good that Dick has a soft stance towards jokes regarding his surname and that he’s not extending any ill will towards such banter, which is good news for the Knicks forward.</p><h2><b>Jalen Brunson responds to Josh Hart’s wild joke after Knicks win</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Knicks-guard-Jalen-Brunson-11-and-forward-OG-Anunoby-8-react-after-a-three-point-basket-by-center-Karl-Anthony-Towns.jpg"><figcaption>© John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>And while Jalen Brunson may have allegedly said, according to Josh Hart, that he “wants” and “will take” Gradey Dick, the Knicks guard <a href="https://x.com/jalenbrunson1/status/1866345766102479145" rel="noopener">vehemently denied such accusations</a> — even posting on his official account on X (formerly Twitter) to clear his name.</p><p>“He’s lying on my name,” Brunson wrote.</p><p>Upon closer look, it does look like Hart truly is lying regarding this matter (of course he is). The Knicks guard was defending Ochai Agbaji to end the game, with Mikal Bridges being the one to take the Dick assignment. Nonetheless, don’t expect this to be the last time that Hart makes fun of Brunson in an out of pocket manner.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks’  Josh Hart makes out of pocket Jalen Brunson-Gradey Dick comments

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-firm-response-podcast-haters');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’ Jalen Brunson has firm response to podcast haters');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Knicks-news-Jalen-Brunson-has-firm-response-to-podcast-haters.jpg"></figure><h1>Knicks’ Jalen Brunson has firm response to podcast haters</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-09T19:48:52-08:00">December 9th, 7:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-09T19:48:52-08:00">December 9th, 7:48pm</time><address><a>Michael Aaron Gomez</a>Michael Aaron Gomez is a creative writer and longtime NBA fan. He has been a fan of the Lakers since the three-peat but believes LeBron James is the greatest player of all time.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks are back in the top echelon of the Eastern Conference after a bumpy early part of the season as they integrated <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-finalizing-shocking-karl-anthony-towns-trade-with-knicks">new trade additions Karl-Anthony Towns</a> and Mikal Bridges. After realizing Towns is the best player on the team, the Knicks promptly started winning games, although they still need to fill roster gaps to become true title contenders. Meanwhile, Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson, in his podcast with teammate Josh Hart, had some stuff to say about his haters, particularly those who hate on his show.</p><p>“It definitely gets criticized a lot,” he said, in a conversation with comedian Hasan Minhaj, on his podcast. “If I listened to every opinion someone had about what I did or what I do, I would not be in the NBA.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"It definitely gets criticized a lot… If I listened to every opinion someone had about what I did or what I do, I would not be in the NBA."</p><p>Jalen Brunson on how opinionated the fans are 👀</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/Roommates__Show?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Roommates__Show</a>)<a href="https://t.co/U8KKiWNctB">pic.twitter.com/U8KKiWNctB</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1866236474662027707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Are the Knicks a title contender?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jalen-Brunson-shooting-over-the-defense.jpg"><figcaption>© Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Offensively, the Knicks are humming, playing an inside-out game with KAT, who’s averaging 25.2 points and 13.2 rebounds this season, while his backcourt partner Jalen Brunson <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/jalen-brunson-stats-this-season" rel="noopener">averages</a> 25.4 points and 7.7 assists.</p><p>However, as they say, defense wins championships, and this team might not have enough personnel on that side of the ball, at least until <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-mitchell-robinson-gets-concerning-target-date-for-return-from-ankle-surgery">Mitchell Robinson returns from injury. </a></p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-big-splash-isaiah-hartenstein-87-million-contract">Losing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency</a> also dealt a major blow to their depth in the frontcourt, though <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-knicks-expected-key-frontcourt-reinforcement-back-injury">Precious Achiuwa might help in the rebounding and interior defense</a> department.</p><p>This need is most likely why the Knicks remain <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/knicks/news/nba-trade-rumors-new-york-knicks-could-eye-houston-rockets-steven-adams" rel="noopener">active buyers on the trade market</a> despite already giving top dollar to KAT and Bridges. For instance, New York wants to deal for Steven Adams, veteran big man for the Houston Rockets, according to a report from Jed Katz for Sports Illustrated.</p><p>Besides Adams, the Knicks could also deal for the Jazz’s Walker Kessler and the Wizards’ Jonas Valanciunas, though several other teams–including the Lakers–could offer better packages for either players, or both.</p><p>Meanwhile, they don’t have as many defensive issues on the perimeter, as Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby are excellent wing defenders who can execute a switch-heavy defense thanks to their physicality and length.</p><p>Josh Hart is also a Swiss Army knife on offense and defense, a high-energy utility guy who does everything on the court for the Knicks, a perfect fit for a superstar tandem of Jalen Brunson and KAT.</p><p>It also helps that Bridges doesn’t miss games, despite playing heavy minutes under Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.</p><p>Should the Knicks stabilize their frontcourt with size and athleticism, they could become one of the teams to bet on coming out of the East. That is, unless, they face the Celtics in the Conference Finals.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks’ Jalen Brunson has firm response to podcast haters

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-is-jalen-brunson-playing-vs-pistons-latest-injury-update');   ga('set', 'title', 'Is Jalen Brunson playing vs. Pistons? Latest injury update');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Knicks-news-is-Jalen-Brunson-playing-vs.-Pistons-Latest-injury-update.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>Is Jalen Brunson playing vs. Pistons? Latest injury update</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-07T09:10:15-08:00">December 7th, 9:10am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-07T09:10:45-08:00">December 7th, 9:10am</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Pistons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-karl-anthony-towns-honest-take-knicks-fans-right-at-home">New York Knicks (14-8) are set to close out their four-game homestand</a> with a matchup against the Detroit Pistons (9-15) on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Riding a four-game win streak, the Knicks are aiming to secure a perfect homestand. However, the <a href="https://official.nba.com/nba-injury-report-2024-25-season/" rel="noopener">availability</a> of star guard Jalen Brunson remains uncertain as he continues to deal with a lower back contusion.</p><p>Brunson was officially listed as questionable on the Knicks’ latest injury report. His status follows a strong showing in Thursday’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-tom-thibodeau-prime-form-mikal-bridges-win">125-101 win over the Charlotte Hornets</a>, where he recorded 24 points, five assists, a rebound, and a steal while shooting an efficient six-for-eight from the field.</p><p>The Knicks also listed guard Cameron Payne as questionable for Saturday’s game due to a left elbow effusion. Payne, acquired in the offseason, has provided valuable depth for New York. He is averaging 8.2 points and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 44.% from three-point range. His potential absence could leave the Knicks shorthanded in the backcourt, further emphasizing Brunson’s importance.</p><p><i><b>*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV <a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/nba/?irad=356361&amp;irmp=492408" rel="noopener sponsored">(Get Access | Save $30)</a>*</b></i></p><h2><b>Jalen Brunson’s injury status vs. Pistons</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jalen-Brunson-11-passes-the-ball-as-Charlotte-Hornets-forward-Cody-Martin-11-defends.jpg"><figcaption>© John Jones-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Brunson has been a key catalyst in the Knicks’ recent resurgence. After a 5-6 start to the season, New York has gone 9-3 in its last 12 games, largely fueled by Brunson’s stellar play. During that span, he has averaged 25.8 points, 8.5 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting an impressive 52% from the field and 45.7% from beyond the arc.</p><p>On the season, Brunson is averaging 25.1 points, 7.5 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game with shooting splits of 49.3% from the field and 42.9% from three. His consistent production has helped solidify the Knicks’ position as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.</p><p>The Pistons, meanwhile, continue to struggle. Detroit has lost seven of its last 10 games and currently sits near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. In their previous meeting on Nov. 1, the Knicks dominated the Pistons with a commanding 128-98 victory.</p><p>The Knicks’ injury concerns could play a significant role in Saturday’s outcome. Brunson’s availability, along with Payne’s status, will be closely monitored leading up to tip-off.</p><p>The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden. Further updates on the Knicks’ injury report are expected prior to the game.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Is Jalen Brunson playing vs. Pistons? Latest injury update

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/jalen-brunson-exits-hornets-game-amid-injury-scare');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jalen Brunson exits Hornets game amid injury scare');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jalen-Brunson-exits-Hornets-game-amid-injury-scare.jpg"></figure><h1>Jalen Brunson exits Hornets game amid injury scare</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-05T19:00:02-08:00">December 5th, 7:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-05T19:43:07-08:00">December 5th, 7:43pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks were at home on Wednesday night against a Charlotte <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-news-lamelo-ball-laundry-list-players-out-knicks">Hornets team that is battling a current injury storm</a>. Late in the second half of that game, the Knicks seemingly survived injury concerns of their own. Knicks star Jalen Brunson <a href="https://x.com/Krisplashed/status/1864858997636858047" rel="noopener">left the game</a> during the third quarter with an injury scare and was seen heading for the locker room, as per Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News.</p><p>Jalen Brunson apparently took a hit to his back earlier in the Knicks’ game against the Hornets but managed to play through the injury. He ultimately <a href="https://x.com/Krisplashed/status/1864861878142296301">returned to the team’s bench</a> with a wrap around his back and was available to return to the game, Winfield later reported.</p><p>That update is certainly a sigh of relief for Knicks fans and the team, as their All-Star point guard seemingly managed to avoid a major injury scare. Although Brunson was able to return to the game, he likely was not needed as the Knicks were ahead comfortably late in the fourth quarter.</p><p>Up to that point, Brunson had put up 24 points, one rebound, and five assists in 27 minutes of play. Brunson has suited up in all 21 games prior to the Hornets matchup, with that game making it 22 straight for the Knicks so far this season.</p><p>Although the Knicks have gotten off to a so-so start to the 2024-25 season, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-winner-after-late-scare-vs-nets-has-fans-going-nuts">Brunson has maintained his All-Star caliber play</a>. Through the team’s first 21 games, he’s been averaging 25.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 7.7 assists with splits of 48.8 percent shooting from the field, 40.9 percent shooting from the three-point line, and 85 percent shooting from the free-throw line. His assists are a career-high, and his points per game is the second highest of his career behind last season’s 28.7.</p><p>Last season, the Knicks advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs, where they were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in seven games.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jalen Brunson exits Hornets game amid injury scare

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-nba-closes-investigation-promotion-jalen-brunsons-dad-rick');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA closes investigation into Knicks’ promotion of Jalen Brunson’s dad Rick');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/0NBA-closes-investigation-into-hiring-of-Jalen-Brunsons-dad-Rick0.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA closes investigation into Knicks’ promotion of Jalen Brunson’s dad Rick</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-04T11:15:44-08:00">December 4th, 11:15am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-04T11:15:44-08:00">December 4th, 11:15am</time><address><a>Kris Pursiainen</a>Kris Pursiainen is an Associate Editor for all sports based in the NJ/NYC area. Kris brings several years of experience reporting on and writing about professional teams to the table. With experience all over the country as a New York Knicks, New York Jets, New York Mets, Super Bowl LVIII, and Big East beat reporter, Kris has been breaking news and reporting on the NBA, NFL, MLB, and college basketball landscapes for years. Kris is a proud graduate of Fordham University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The NBA’s investigation into the New York Knicks’ promotion of assistant coach Rick Brunson has <a href="https://x.com/IanBegley/status/1864356915406340485" rel="noopener">ended</a>, per SNY’s Ian Begley. Begley reported the news on X, formerly known as Twitter, Wednesday morning.</p><p>“Heard NBA inquiry/investigation into NYK promotion of assistant coach Rick Brunson has closed,” Begley wrote. “NYK previously denounced NBA’s questioning as ‘harassment.’ NBA continued inquiry after initial questions in Nov.; have since closed query.”</p><p>The Knicks <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-ny-breaks-silence-on-nbas-rumored-investigation-of-rick-brunsons-promotion">initially released a preemptive statement</a> regarding the league’s investigation. And star guard Jalen Brunson <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-defends-dad-amid-nba-investigation">was steadfast in his defense of his father</a> when asked about the situation.</p><p>The team described the inquiry into the reasoning behind the elder Brunson’s promotion as harassment. The league seemed to want to confirm that Rick Brunson’s raise in role and pay was unrelated to his son’s new contract extension. The younger Brunson <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-josh-hart-wants-new-york-statue-for-jalen-brunson-after-massive-pay-cut">made headlines last offseason</a> by signing a four-year, $156 million extension instead of waiting a year for a potential “supermax” contract from New York.</p><h2><b>The Knicks are primed for a run with Rick Brunson inquiry behind them</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jalen-and-Rick-Brunson-Knicks.jpg"><figcaption>Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Pundits and fans can direct full attention to the Knicks’ on-court performance with the investigation finally in the past. And their play has been newsworthy for positive reasons.</p><p>The Knicks have won three straight games and eight of their last 10, including Tuesday night’s 121-106 win over the Orlando Magic. The team’s next seven games are against opposing squads with records of .500 or worse. And even then, the next contest in which New York will play a team with a record above .500 comes on Christmas against the San Antonio Spurs, who are just one game above that mark.</p><p>The Knicks went 14-2 in January 2024 and turned heads around the NBA world with their two-way excellence. It’s certainly not a stretch to say that this upcoming stretch of games for New York could propel a win-streak. And with forward/center Precious Achiuwa expected to return to the court <a href="https://sny.tv/articles/knicks-precious-achiuwa-could-return-in-a-week-or-so" rel="noopener">in about a week</a>, it seems like plenty of momentum is about to swing the Knicks’ way.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA closes investigation into Knicks’ promotion of Jalen Brunson’s dad Rick

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-josh-hart-hilariously-different-motivations-nba-cup');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart’s hilariously different motivations for NBA Cup');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Knicks-news-Jalen-Brunson-Josh-Harts-hilariously-different-motivations-for-NBA-Cup-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart’s hilariously different motivations for NBA Cup</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-02T12:25:55-08:00">December 2nd, 12:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-02T12:25:55-08:00">December 2nd, 12:25pm</time><address><a>Matt De Lima</a>Matt De Lima is an Associate Editor for NFL and college football at ClutchPoints. He has been covering sports for over 12 years at sites like Sports Illustrated, The Game Day, and countless others. Born and raised in California, he is a graduate of Virginia Tech and a diehard Hokies fan who now resides in southern Maryland.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Players on the winning NBA Cup team are awarded over $500K each, and even players on the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-tom-thibodeau-refuses-blame-quentin-grimes-0-point-bucks">losing quarterfinals teams</a> are given $50K. Consider it a holiday bonus since the NBA Cup concludes on December 17. What players do with that money is their business, and when you consider the disparity between guys on a supermax contract compared to the NBA G League guys on two-way contracts, the motivating differences are huge. When asked what they’ll do with their bonus money, New York Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart had comically different motivations <a href="https://x.com/Krisplashed/status/1863648597985697844">to win</a> the NBA Cup, per NY Daily News’ Kristian Winfield.</p><p>“Jalen Brunson said he wanted to win the NBA Cup in part to help teammates on min. salaries and 2way deals to get a $500k payday. Asked Josh Hart after practice today about winning the Cup so those teammates could get paid: ‘No. I wanna win cause I want a damn watch. The new AP.’</p><p>For those of you who aren’t high-end watch connoisseurs, Hart is referring to the brand Audemars Piguet. The nearly 150-year-old Swiss watchmakers are world-renowned for their luxury timepieces, which range from the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.</p><p>Last year, the Knicks advanced to the knockout stage and qualified as the Eastern Conference’s No. 4 seed at the bracket stage. They lost to the East’s No. 1 seed in the quarterfinal round. The Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Cup championship game, 123-109, against the Indiana Pacers.</p><h2><b>Knicks are a tier below in the East</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Knicks-Jalen-Brunson-Josh-Hart-1.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It’s a long season, and situations can change, but New York doesn’t quite seem to be at the same level as the top of the Eastern Conference. In the top tier, there are the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics. In the second tier are the upstart Orlando Magic and the Knicks.</p><p>In Brett Siegel’s latest <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-power-rankings-24-25-week-6-magic-rockets-soar-surprise-success-stories">NBA Power Rankings</a>, New York climbed one spot up to No. 10.</p><p>“When the New York Knicks have 33-point victories like they did over the New Orleans Pelicans, or even 27-point statement wins on the road against the Denver Nuggets, they look like one of the best teams in the league. Then there are the hiccups that have existed this year for the Knicks, like a 15-point road loss in Dallas or a one-point win in Charlotte. The Knicks have won four straight conference games, yet inconsistencies that lie on the defensive end of the floor are a concern for this group.”</p><p>The Knicks are a starter-heavy team and must continue to ingratiate role players off the bench like Miles McBride and Cameron Payne. The latter, a 10-year vet in his first year in New York, is shooting well at a .439 clip from three-point range at about 18 minutes per game.</p><p>Getting guys like Precious Achiuwa and Mitchell Robinson back on the court will only help keep the Knicks’ stars healthy later in the season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart’s hilariously different motivations for NBA Cup

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-karl-anthony-towns-jalen-brunson-what-went-wrong-vs-mavericks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks duo Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson reveal what went wrong vs. Mavericks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Knicks-news-Karl-Anthony-Towns-Jalen-Brunson-reveal-what-went-wrong-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>Knicks duo Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson reveal what went wrong vs. Mavericks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-28T10:04:43-08:00">November 28th, 10:04am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-28T10:16:15-08:00">November 28th, 10:16am</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University while covering events like the 2023 NCAA Men's Final Four, the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona State men's swim and dive team. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks had nothing to be thankful for after their 129-114 blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. Both Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson had good games (Brunson had 37 points), but it was too little, too late. The two stars told The New York Post about <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/11/27/sports/knicks-previously-potent-offense-flops-in-loss-to-mavericks/" rel="noopener">the clear struggle</a> that dominated the rest of the game.<br><br>“S–t, that’s the first half,” Towns said. “We didn’t shoot well, we didn’t shoot well at all.<br><br>“We couldn’t buy a basket to save our lives to start the game,” Brunson said. “Defensively, we just weren’t there. It’s a long season. Honestly, got to limit the highs and lows and be as steady as we can be.”<br><br>Although the Knicks shot 47% for the game, the first half was abysmal. Towns described that in the locker room, there was the number “26%” written and circled in a red marker. The woeful shooting performance came as a surprise, considering how well New York played on Monday. In the game against the Denver Nuggets, the Knicks tied a franchise record with 45 assists. They also scored 145 points in the win, which featured <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-og-anunoby-new-career-high-win-vs-nuggets">Knicks forward OG Anunoby dropping a 40-piece</a> on Denver.<br><br>Fast forward two days later, and the Mavericks implemented a useful defensive tactic. They implemented switching on screens, which has been a problem for Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau this season. Not to mention, the Boston Celtics and the Houston Rockets implemented a similar defensive strategy. New York lost those two games.</p><h2><b>Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns reveal a consistent struggle for the Knicks</b></h2><p>Although shooting varies for each team on any given night, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/2025_games.html" rel="noopener">shooting 26% in a half</a> isn’t a recipe for success. Not to mention, playing a team like Dallas is difficult in and out of itself. The rim protection, athleticism, and guarding of Kyrie Irving is a tough task. Also, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd is crafty with certain rotations and schemes. <br><br>That defensive identity was present, as just about every New York screen was switched by a Dallas defender. They have the athleticism and versatility to switch the screens effectively. It forced the Knicks to take some tough, contested mid-range shots. Brunson is an effective mid-range shooter, but a consistent switch doesn’t give the playmakers any room to operate.</p><p>Regardless of the outcome, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/way-too-early-look-knicks-possible-playoff-matchups">Knicks have been one of the premier offenses</a> in the league. A bad shooting night can happen to any team. However, recognizing those defensive tactics by other teams will be important to ensuring their success going forward.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks duo Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson reveal what went wrong vs. Mavericks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-jason-kidd-jalen-brunson-2024');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ Jason Kidd gets brutally honest on Jalen Brunson');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Mavericks-Jason-Kidd-gets-brutally-honest-on-Jalen-Brunson.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks’ Jason Kidd gets brutally honest on Jalen Brunson</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-27T18:16:07-08:00">November 27th, 6:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-27T18:16:07-08:00">November 27th, 6:16pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>DALLAS — <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-jalen-brunson-recalls-jason-kidds-blunt-message-during-first-meeting">Jason Kidd has watched Jalen Brunson</a> for years, having coached him and coached against him. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-confirms-mavs-exit-agrees-to-4-year-104-million-deal-with-new-york">Brunson left the Dallas Mavericks</a> for the New York Knicks in NBA free agency following the 2021-22 season, though. With the Mavs hosting the Knicks on Wednesday, Kidd was asked about Brunson.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jason Kidd on Jalen Brunson: “He loves to play, he loves competition.”<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MFFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MFFL</a> <a href="https://t.co/AxXr9OL9as">pic.twitter.com/AxXr9OL9as</a></p><p>— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1861906901262377366?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“He loves to play, he loves competition,” Kidd <a href="https://x.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1861906901262377366" rel="noopener">told reporters</a>. “And again seeing him up close, being able to play with other stars.”</p><p>Kidd also said that Brunson has found success in the big city of New York. Dallas is a fairly large market as well, but New York is one of the biggest markets in all of sports. Yet, Brunson has emerged as an NBA All-Star.</p><p>The 28-year-old guard played in Dallas from the 2018-19 campaign through the 2021-22 season. The Mavs reached the Western Conference Finals in 2022 but ultimately fell short of reaching the NBA Finals. A potential Mavericks-Brunson reunion was mentioned as a possibility, but he ended up leaving for New York.</p><p>The decision has paid off for Brunson, who has seen an increase in production with the Knicks. He is currently averaging 24.9 points per game on 47.7 percent field goal and 40.7 percent three-point shooting in 2024-25. Brunson is also averaging 7.9 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 0.6 steals per outing.</p><p>Brunson’s Knicks are 10-7 to begin the 2024-25 season. Meanwhile, the Mavs are 10-8.</p><p>Defeating the Knicks could prove to be a challenge for the Mavs amid <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-luka-doncic-injury-return-jason-kidd">Luka Doncic’s injury absence</a>. In fact, Doncic and Brunson have only played against one another once in the NBA. The teams have played multiple times since Brunson left, but either Brunson or Doncic have missed the head-to-head matchups for the most part.</p><p>The Knicks will host the Mavericks in March, so perhaps Doncic and Brunson will receive the opportunity to play against one another later in the season. At the moment, both teams are focused on Wednesday’s game.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ Jason Kidd gets brutally honest on Jalen Brunson

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-defends-dad-amid-nba-investigation');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’ Jalen Brunson defends his dad amid NBA investigation');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Knicks-news-Jalen-Brunson-defends-his-dad-amid-NBA-investigation.jpg"></figure><h1>Knicks’ Jalen Brunson defends his dad amid NBA investigation</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-21T08:08:31-08:00">November 21st, 8:08am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-21T08:08:31-08:00">November 21st, 8:08am</time><address><a>Kris Pursiainen</a>Kris Pursiainen is an Associate Editor for all sports based in the NJ/NYC area. Kris brings several years of experience reporting on and writing about professional teams to the table. With experience all over the country as a New York Knicks, New York Jets, New York Mets, Super Bowl LVIII, and Big East beat reporter, Kris has been breaking news and reporting on the NBA, NFL, MLB, and college basketball landscapes for years. Kris is a proud graduate of Fordham University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-tom-thibodeau-gets-brutally-honest-on-hiring-jalen-brunsons-dad-rick-after-past-sexual-misconduct-allegations">New York Knicks’ hire of assistant coach Rick Brunson</a> in June of 2022 raised eyebrows at the time. And as of November 2024, the addition is still making headlines. SNY’s Ian Begley reported that the NBA was investigating the timing of the Knicks’ promotion of Brunson. The promotion occurred this offseason when associate head coach <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-steal-knicks-assistant-to-join-kenny-atkinson-staff">Johnnie Bryant departed for the same role</a> with the Cavaliers.</p><p>Brunson’s promotion lines up with Bryant’s exit from the organization. But it also lines up with the team’s extension of his son, Jalen Brunson. And the league’s investigation centers around the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-josh-hart-wants-new-york-statue-for-jalen-brunson-after-massive-pay-cut">$113 million “pay cut” Brunson took</a> to stay a Knick. The NBA is exploring whether or not the promotion of assistant coach Rick Brunson and accompanying salary raise were unorthodox attempts at cap-circumvention.</p><p>Brunson’s title was not changed to “associate head coach,” the title Bryant had with the organization and has in Cleveland. But the team stated on Monday that Brunson “took Johnnie Bryant’s place and assumed the same salary as Bryant.” The existence of the investigation implies that the league has not ruled out that Rick Brunson was promoted by the Knicks, but not actually in title, to justify paying him additional money which would supplement his son’s income following the team-friendly extension.</p><p>After shootaround ahead of the Knicks’ Wednesday night tilt in Phoenix, the younger Brunson defended his father from his own perspective.</p><p>“For a person who has been around the NBA for a long time, who has been around [Thibodeau] for longer than he’s been around the NBA, I think he understands the business,” Brunson told reporters of his father.</p><p>“I think he understands the game, I think he understands the head coach. So he’s more than qualified. The way he’s taught me and raised me and how I’ve seen him impact others in all different levels of basketball, high school, college, pros. He’s more than qualified for that position.”</p><h2><b>Rick Brunson and Tom Thibodeau go way back</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Jalen-and-Rick-Brunson-Knicks.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Rick Brunson’s relationship with Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau goes back to Salem, MA in the early 1990s. That is indeed before the elder Brunson went undrafted in 1995 and eventually joined the NBA in 1997. The two have been coaching in tandem for decades, even going back to when Brunson was actively in the NBA. When the Knicks first hired Brunson, Ian Begley <a href="https://sny.tv/articles/knicks-rick-brunson-assistant-coach-hire" rel="noopener">reported that the two were close</a> when both employed by the Knicks in the late 1990s.</p><p>“He sat beside Thibodeau on the bench during games and has said that he did so because they had a close relationship and because he wanted to learn more about coaching, a goal for his post-playing career,” Begley wrote of Brunson and Thibodeau.</p><p>Brunson was the head coach at Camden High School in New Jersey at the time. And many questioned his leap back to the NBA level. Thibodeau had hired him before, with things not ending smoothly. Brunson resigned from his position with the Minnesota Timberwolves in May 2018 amidst allegations of workplace harassment.</p><p>Brunson’s attorney stated at the time that there had not been any findings of wrongdoing by the assistant. Brunson was acquitted on charges of sexual assault in 2015 and the Timberwolves hired him afterwards. Thibodeau alluded to this when questioned about the Knicks’ hiring of the assistant in 2022.</p><p>Brunson played in the NBA from 1997 to 2006 and wore eight different jerseys in that time. He has coached several levels of basketball and closely oversaw the development of his son Jalen, now a Knicks superstar. Brunson has had issues pop up in the past related to his coaching career. But if the NBA’s investigation is into his qualifications for his spot on the Knicks’ coaching staff, the findings will likely be that they are sufficient.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Knicks’ Jalen Brunson defends his dad amid NBA investigation

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-karl-anthony-towns-taking-same-kobe-shaq-path');   ga('set', 'title', 'Knicks’ Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns taking same Kobe-Shaq path');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Jalen-Brunson-breaks-silence-on-Karl-Anthony-Towns-fit-with-New-York.jpg"></figure><h1>Knicks’ Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns taking same Kobe-Shaq path</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-20T23:10:24-08:00">November 20th, 11:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-20T23:10:24-08:00">November 20th, 11:10pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks may not have hit the ground running like many envisioned they would following their blockbuster offseason acquisitions of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, but they are starting to put it together. On Wednesday night, the star tandem of Towns and Jalen Brunson at the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-dilemma-win-wizards">Knicks’ point of attack was firing</a> on all cylinders, as they combined for 70 points on 24-40 shooting from the field in a 138-122 win over the Phoenix Suns.</p><p>Towns has been every bit as good as advertised despite having to adjust to a new environment with the Knicks, as following his 34-point outing against the Suns, he’s now averaging 26.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game — emerging as the team’s most consistent offensive weapon. But Brunson, after a shaky start to the campaign, has been trending up as of late, and with that latest performance, he’s now at 25.2 points per contest.</p><p>Now, both Towns and Brunson are on pace for a feat that no other duo in the NBA has accomplished since the 2002-03 season. According to StatMamba on X (formerly known as Twitter), the Knicks’ star duo <a href="https://x.com/StatMamba/status/1859474040844329139" rel="noopener">is on pace</a> to become the first guard/center tandem since Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant to average 25 points per game.</p><p>This is exactly what the Knicks envisioned when they brought in Towns at the expense of crucial depth pieces such as Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Returning to his natural position at center, Towns is back to putting up monster numbers on a nightly basis, with Brunson now doing his part to fuel the team’s elite offense that currently ranks second in points scored per 100 possessions.</p><p>And after a bit of an uneven start to the season, the Knicks have now climbed to three games above .500 with a 9-6 record. For all the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-jalen-brunson-pinpoints-nys-real-problem-amid-poor-stretch">panic surrounding the Knicks</a> earlier this season, it does look right they are finding themselves at the moment.</p><h2><b>The Knicks’ offense is close to unstoppable</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Karl-Anthony-Towns_b198b6.jpg"></figure><p>The Knicks’ offensive output of 122.1 points per 100 possessions has come as a result of all five of their core players knowing what to do with the ball in their hands. Much has been written about the elite scoring of both Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson, but it’s not as if Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart are <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-og-anunoby-reveals-narrative-sick-hearing">slouches with the ball either</a>.</p><p>Their defense, however, has a lot of room to improve. They currently <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?dir=D&amp;sort=DEF_RATING" rel="noopener">rank 22nd</a> in defensive rating, allowing 115.6 points per 100 possessions, but that should improve especially when Mitchell Robinson returns.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
24.6	2.8	7.6	0.1	0.8

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
24.6	2.8	7.6	0.1	0.8

Jalen Brunson news

Jalen
Brunson news