Jalen Brunson’s late heroics save Knicks from collapse against pesky Raptors

TORONTO — The clutch gene, as Paul Pierce called it, might not show up on a DNA test. But Jalen Brunson pᴀssed the eye test.

He’s a carrier and said it comes from his mother, Sandra.

“She keeps me focused, she keeps me grounded,” Brunson said. “My dad pushed me to be the best player I can be. So they evened it out.”

For a second straight game on a second straight night, Brunson came through when it mattered most — when the Knicks needed two pivotal buckets in the final minute of Tuesday’s 121-115 victory over the Raptors.

His trey with 25.8 seconds remaining, drained coolly as the game’s final bucket, prompted a collective groan from the Canadian crowd.

It felt like a reflection from the night prior in MSG, when Brunson strapped on his cape and carried the Knicks through crunch time to beat the Rockets.

New York has its closer — cool, calm, collected.

“Confidence,” Brunson said. “Because if I fail, you learn from it. Very confident in situations, and it’s something I had to learn from a young age and not be afraid to fail.”

The rest of the evening felt like just a regular night for Brunson, who dropped 28 points on 10-for-21 shooting. Karl-Anthony Towns had carried the torch for the first half, helping the Knicks build a 23-point lead by the third quarter.

But playing without injured OG Anunoby, they allowed that advantage to dwindle to one with about three minutes remaining.

That’s when Josh Hart connected on consecutive layups — the first off a putback, the second in transition.

Then Brunson took over. Again.

“I think confidence comes from your preparation,” Tom Thibodeau said, adding that he believes the clutch gene is a real trait found in his point guard. “And his ability to get to the spots on the floor that he wants to get to, he’s not relying on strictly athleticism although he’s more athletic than people realize, he’s stronger than people realize. But he changes speeds extremely well and he’s got a great base. When he takes a sH๏τ, his balance is terrific. He can get to the spots he wants to get to. He’s not afraid, but I think that’s probably the biggest thing. I think the confidence is a byproduct of his work.”

The win was the seventh in eight games for the Knicks (34-17), who have three days off before Saturday’s marquee matchup against the Celtics. Towns dropped 27 points with 20 rebounds — though he only had seven points and five boards in the second half.

“They fought back,” Towns said. “They hit sH๏τs, too, when they had to hit sH๏τs, so credit to them. Shout-out to our team. Again, just finding a way to win and fighting through all the adversity.”

There were some trappings of a schedule loss. The Knicks were playing on the second night of a back-to-back after that thrilling victory over the Rockets, a top-tier NBA opponent.

Their best defensive player, Anunoby, didn’t make the trip because of a foot sprain. Mikal Bridges, their iron man and minutes leader, appeared on the injury report for the first time this season with a sore ankle, the result of stepping awkwardly on a Rockets defender on Monday.

He still started at shooting guard, logging his 525th straight game while scoring 17 points in 41 minutes.

The Raptors (16-34), though a disappointment this season, had been playing well recently with eight wins in their previous 10 games.

The Knicks showed no hangover symptoms in the first half, using a surge in the second quarter to take a 17-point lead at the break.

But the Raptors, playing without former Knick RJ Barrett (concussion), kept chipping away.

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