With Hart, Strus, Ethan, and the others drawing attention, Joe was able to find nearly as much open space as he did when he shared the floor with Chen Xi.
And at this point, the opponent no longer had Wemby, that defensive anchor, protecting the paint against his drives.
So PG erupted, with no surprise at all.
In just four minutes, Paul Joe went 4-for-4 from the field, 1-for-1 from three, and 3-for-3 at the line, including a difficult and-one jumper over Kuminga that drew the foul.
Seizing on the drop in the opponent's defensive efficiency, Joe raised his personal total for the night to 23 points in one go, while helping the Knicks stretch their lead to 13.
With the deficit reaching double digits, the Spurs naturally could not keep holding onto their timeouts.
Popovich immediately called one, sending Brunson, Johnson, and the others back onto the court.
Then the game resumed...
The first possession after returning to the floor.
Brunson quickly brought the ball across half court, signaled for Vassell to set a screen at the Top of the Key, then used the pick-and-roll to hunt Strus.
Facing Winter Soldier one-on-one, Brunson made a quick Front Crossover in front of his body, accelerated into his drive, charged all the way into the paint, then abruptly stopped and pulled the ball back on the move.
After a simple pocket dribble, he smoothly spun into his gather and finished over Strus with a turnaround, fadeaway mid-range jumper.
Basketball traced a perfect arc before dropping cleanly through the hoop.
Two points.
He had immediately displayed his exceptional individual ability upon returning.
Jalen Brunson truly was a very strong player.
At least offensively, he was genuinely formidable.
The Spurs scored on their possession, and the ball returned to the Knicks.
Josh Hart