Knicks Playoff Notes: Mike Brown passes first test; Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns producing good results

Mike Brown won 53 games in his first year as Knicks coach. His Knicks finished No. 4 on offense, No.

7 on defense and No. 5 in net rating . Strong numbers, solid results.

But Brown knows his regular season accomplishments don’t mean much. We all know that these Knicks – and their head coach – will be judged on what happens over the next few weeks. So far, so good.

Brown and his staff made some decisions that were crucial to New York’s Game 1 win on Saturday . Under Brown and associate head coach Chris Jent , the Knick offense looked strong early on. Yes, part of it was Jalen Brunson ’s brilliance (19 first-quarter points, 8-for-11 shooting).