Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns find elusive Knicks harmony in key moment

ATLANTA — There were only about 3 ¹/₂ minutes remaining in a game that the Knicks felt they had to win to build momentum and confidence.

They trailed the Hawks by five. They had just 92 points. They needed offense in a half-court set because the game had slowed down.

Just like the playoffs.

And they found something.

Five times over their next six possessions — interrupted only by a transition bucket off a turnover — the Knicks ran the same play: Brunson brought up the ball and gave it to Karl-Anthony Towns, who was on the wing at the 3-point line with a defender pressuring him.

The same spot every time.

From there, options were abundant and, as it turned out, highly efficient.

Brunson twice hit runners in the lane off give-and-gos; KAT drew a foul after spinning around his draping defender; Brunson hit an open 3-pointer after a dribble handoff because his defender couldn’t get around Towns.

Half of Towns’ six assists were collected in a 40-second stretch of crunch time. The Knicks went from down five to up two, eventually beating the Hawks 108-105 on Monday night.

It became an example of two gifted offensive players — KAT and Brunson — working in harmony, rather than taking turns as they had for most of this campaign.

“I thought we did a great job [Monday] of utilizing it,” Towns said. “When the game got dicey, the coaching staff and our teammates leaned on us to have that two-man game show up when we needed it the most. And it worked.

“We have a good rapport where I think that, what you saw at the end of the game with me and J.B., allows him not to have so much pressure on him and allows me to help him out and do what I do best — cause gravity, which allows him to get a step on a defender, and that’s all he needs to score. It gave us a chance for him to play one-on-one and also get a step on the defender and give him some of the best looks of the night.”

Towns was giddy after Monday’s win and clearly excited about the play calling. He and Brunson combined for 51 points and 19 assists, engaging more often with the pick-and-rolls that were always projected as key to producing a powerful offensive duo. It wasn’t just down the stretch Monday.

“It’s huge to know a guy like Jalen can shoot and score the way he does. On top of that, he’s crafty. He’s crafty with the ball, crafty without the ball,” coach Mike Brown said. “Having KAT as a passer [makes it tougher on the opposition]. On top of that, KAT’s a great shooter. So you put those two guys in space in a two-man game, and teams gotta make decisions. Both those guys came through.”

However, the Knicks have gotten away from that two-man game for much of this season. Perhaps not coincidentally, Brunson and Towns both produced down years statistically — especially Towns.

Monday became a reminder of the possibilities with the playoffs around the corner.

“Playoffs are going to come down to a possession game,” Brunson said. “It’s real important for us.”