Brown had to quiet the noise at Knicks practice.
The New York Knicks held practice on Monday with the first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks tied at two games apiece.
Game 5 tips off Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden and the mood around the team felt loose.
Head coach Mike Brown set the tone early when he was asked about Jalen Brunson.
"Jalen is as coachable as they come," Brown said following Monday's practice. "If I had to coach his father, it might be different."
The Brunson Exchange
The comment drew laughs and came two days after cameras caught Jalen Brunson and his father, assistant coach Rick Brunson, in a heated fourth-quarter exchange during New York's 114-98 Game 4 win in Atlanta.
The Knicks had a comfortable lead at the time but the Brunsons were still going back and forth on the sideline, raising their voices and waving their arms before Jalen walked away.
Brown was not worried about any of it.
"They have a unique relationship, and I enjoy every aspect of it," Brown said.
Brunson himself downplayed the moment after Game 4, calling it "two competitors" and insisting there was nothing to debate.
The whole thing happened in a game the Knicks controlled from the first quarter on, so it was not about frustration.
Brown Puts Brunson in Elite Company
Brown also compared Brunson to Steph Curry in terms of willingness to listen and adapt, which says a lot about how much he trusts his point guard.
Brunson is averaging 25.5 points through the first four playoff games on 41.6 percent shooting from the field and 38.5 percent from three.
He had a rough night in Game 4 with 19 points and six turnovers, but the Knicks still won by 16 because Karl-Anthony Towns stepped up with his first career playoff triple-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
That balance is exactly what makes this team dangerous heading into Game 5.
When Brunson struggles, somebody else picks it up instead of the offense going stale.
OG Anunoby led the team with 22 points in Game 4 and the defense held CJ McCollum to zero three-pointers after he had knocked down nine in the first three games combined.
Why New York Has the Edge
The Knicks finished the regular season at 53-29 as the third seed in the East while the Hawks went 46-36 as the sixth seed. New York has home court advantage and Madison Square Garden in the playoffs is a different environment.
Towns averaged 20.1 points and 11.9 rebounds during the regular season and has looked even better in the postseason.
If Brown's group can carry the momentum from their blowout in Atlanta into Tuesday night, this series might not need a seventh game.