TORONTO — The clutch gene, as Paul Pierce called it, might not show up on a DNA test. But Jalen Brunson passed the eye test. He’s a carrier and said it comes from his mother, Sandra.

This is why you call him captain — because when the Knicks needed him most, Jalen Brunson delivered. With OG Anunoby sidelined due to a right foot sprain and New York’s defense scrambling ...