“That’s the beauty of Jalen as a leader,” Wright, who coached the New Jersey-born Brunson to two NCAA championships at Villanova, told NJ Advance Media at the at the 92nd annual MBWA All-Met Haggerty Awards Dinner on Thursday.

For the first time in this fun series, the Knicks played with a lead in Thursday’s Game 3 and played like they deserved to win. It started in the opening quarter, with Mikal Bridges or Josh Hart frequently bringing up the ball while providing Brunson a respite — while Karl-Anthony Towns soaked up the majority of scoring opportunities.

It’s clear the answer is him. Brunson ranks third in playoff touches per game behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, but he ranks No. 1 in average time of possession (10.1 minutes, ahead of James Harden), average seconds per touch (six seconds) and average dribbles per touch (5.92).