On Monday night, the Knicks closed their win over the Sacramento Kings with Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Miles McBride, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson on the floor.

“This was a tight ball game and so I just rode that group,” Mike Brown said postgame.

Brown’s decision worked well; the Knicks went on a 13-0 run over four minutes late in the fourth to close the victory.

On Saturday, Brown didn’t hesitate to put Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns on the bench late in New York’s road win in Philly.

Brown has not shied away from benching his starters down the stretch of close games in his first 40-plus games as Knicks head coach. 

“We needed to get the win,” Brown said after the team's third straight win following a 2-7 stretch.

Towns played 27 total minutes on Tuesday after playing just 16 minutes on Saturday. 

He said following Monday's contest that the wins mean much more to him than the minutes totals.

“He saw what he saw,” Towns said of Brown. “We got a win. That’s the most important thing…That’s all I care about, this team cares about, New York cares about -- the wins.”

There will be rumors about Towns and other big-name Knicks ahead of next Thursday’s trade deadline. 

One player that remains squarely on New York’s radar ahead of the deadline is Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado. 

We noted New York's interest in Alvarado last month and can say that nothing has changed on that front. 

The Knicks still see Alvarado as a player who can help bolster their bench/rotation. 

The NY-native is averaging 7.9 points and 3.2 assists across 36 games for New Orleans this season.