Knicks find their shooting touch as Brunson scores 38 and Kolek steadies the bench

The New York Knicks offense finally looks like the one that carried them through last spring. Jalen Brunson scored a season-high 38 points on Wednesday as New York came back from 19 points down in the third quarter to win 133-127 at Chicago. It was the Knicks' first road win of the season and the second straight win in a back-to-back, and it got them to 2-3.

Brunson started slowly, then made six of his next nine three-point attempts and finished 12-for-21 from the field with seven assists and two steals, according to SNY. As a team, New York shot 46 percent from three, its best mark of the season, and 45 percent overall. The ESPN recap shows the Knicks scored 77 points across the second half, 43 of them in the fourth quarter. Chicago got within 130-127 with 46 seconds left, but a late Bulls three missed and Brunson and OG Anunoby made the free throws that closed it out.

The result supports what Mike Brown said during the 0-3 start. Before Tuesday's win over Detroit, the coach told SNY he believed the Knicks were getting good looks from the right players, and added, "I want them to keep shooting." Two games later they are scoring well again. Brown has also been trying out new rotations, including early lineups that sat Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns at the same time. He has dropped that one, but he has said other unusual groupings may show up while he works out what suits this roster.

The other story is Tyler Kolek. Jose Alvarado has missed three straight games with a sprained ankle, an injury CBS Sports first reported as he sat out the Orlando loss, and Kolek has taken the backup point guard minutes. He had nine assists and no turnovers in Chicago, and over the last three games he has 21 assists without a turnover. Brown has said publicly that he wants Kolek to run the offense under ball pressure and to defend with force for his size. The decision-making and ball security have been there. Landry Shamet and Jordan Clarkson also helped the bench, combining for 32 points on 12-for-21 shooting, and New York was plus-13 with either of them on the floor.

What it means for Friday in Philadelphia

Next is a rematch with the 76ers on Friday night in Philadelphia, streaming on Prime Video. The Knicks opened the season with a 106-100 home loss to Philadelphia, which started a three-game skid that also included a four-point loss in Boston and a nine-point home loss to Orlando. Those games featured the cold shooting Brown kept calling temporary. The past two have looked different: a 14-point win over Detroit and 133 points in Chicago.

The question for Friday is whether the Knicks can sustain it on the road against a team that already beat them. Brunson's rhythm is the main factor, and how much he gets from the bench is close behind. If Alvarado is still out, Kolek's clean ball-handling becomes a bigger deal against a Philadelphia team that held New York to 100 points in the opener. One more win would get the Knicks back to .500 a week into the season. A loss would undercut the progress they made in two nights.