The New York Knicks found themselves in a dogfight against the team that eliminated them in the 2023 NBA playoffs, the Miami Heat, with the story of the game looking familiar to those who followed the hard-fought series these two teams had back in May. It was a defensive battle, with the Knicks forcing the Heat to take plenty of difficult shots, while Miami forced plenty of New York turnovers. In the end, it was the Knicks that came home with the 100-98 win after mounting an epic comeback from 21 points down thanks to some heroics from Jalen Brunson.

Brunson's stats may not jump off the box score, but he scored seven points in the span of 1:32 to give the Knicks a 99-96 lead late in the game. When the going gets tough, Brunson's skillset makes him such a deadly weapon; his elite footwork, tight handles, and ability to get to his spot gives the Knicks a go-to-guy with the game hanging in the balance. Noted ESPN pundit Kendrick Perkins even gave the Knicks guard his due props after proving that he is, time and time again, a winning player.

“We can debate all day if Brunson is Number 1 or Number 2 on a Contender team… but I do know this! He’s a damn Hooper and a Winner!!! The Knicks stood on Business tonight. Carry the hell on…” Perkins wrote on his official Twitter (X) account.

There are certainly questions surrounding the Knicks' legitimacy as title contenders with Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle as the team's best players. These are the exact questions that have inserted the Knicks into every trade conversation for a potentially disgruntled star, with Joel Embiid being the most prominent target.

But whatever the case may be, Kendrick Perkins does have a point that the Knicks have a bonafide keeper in Brunson. Brunson never shies away from the moment; as one would recall, it was him who carried the Knicks on his back to try and keep them alive in their playoff series against the Heat, scoring 41 points in a four-point loss in their season-ending Game 6. And it's looking like there's no reason to expect him to stop doing this anytime soon.