Jalen Brunson: Knicks' lagging offense 'falls on my shoulders' - ESPN

NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson has repeatedly said the opening weeks of the season would be telling for the defending champion New York Knicks, and so far, the returns have left much to be desired.

The Knicks remain winless after a third straight defeat, this one at the hands of the Orlando Magic on Sunday at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks blew a 10-point lead with 9:20 left, allowing 40 fourth-quarter points in a 111-102 loss.

The last time a defending champion had three losses to open a campaign was in 2011-12, when the Dallas Mavericks had to wait until their fourth game before registering a win.

«Everything falls on my shoulders,» Brunson said in reference to the Knicks' potent offense sputtering in the opening days. «I just got to be a better leader when it comes to that, when it comes to our guys are ready to go in the right spots. There's a lot of other little things, but it's organization on my part.»

Brunson led the Knicks with 28 points but was 12-of-28 from the field and missed six of his seven 3-point attempts.

The Knicks struggled from long range in their first two games and shot 9-for-38 (23.7%) from 3 on Sunday, unable to keep pace when the Magic made a fourth-quarter charge. Orlando forward Franz Wagner, taking on more responsibility with Paolo Banchero sidelined multiple weeks, scored 21 of his 23 points in the fourth and finished with 13 rebounds and nine assists.

«One thing I said throughout the entire training camp, and honestly to this day, is we're going to see who we are within the first couple weeks of the season,» Brunson said. «So, we're hitting adversity now. How are we going to respond?»

Brunson and coach Mike Brown agreed on the little things hurting the Knicks. They began Sunday's contest with