Jalen Brunson’s latest big test lies with stark Celtics backcourt

First up was Ausar Thompson, one of the top young perimeter defenders in the league. 

Now it’s Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, arguably the NBA’s premier defensive backcourt.

It won’t get any easier for Jalen Brunson. 

The Knicks’ superstar guard and the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year carried his team into the Eastern Conference semifinals for the third straight year, ending the Pistons’ season thanks to a memorable 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds left in Game 6 on Thursday night.

He averaged 31.5 points and 8.2 assists in the series, routinely taking over in the fourth quarter. 

“Big-time player,” White told reporters Friday. “Seems to make the big plays for them. He’s had an unbelievable year, and obviously these playoffs, he’s taken it to another level. … Try to make it as difficult as we can for 48 minutes.”

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For the Knicks to have a chance to oust the favored Celtics, Brunson may have to be even better than he was against the Pistons.

It certainly won’t be easy.

Holiday is an elite defender, though he missed the Celtics’ final three games of their opening-round series against the Magic with a hamstring strain.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Friday the two-time NBA champion and three-time all-defensive first-team selection remains day to day. 

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“He’s just getting better every day, doing whatever he can to make sure he puts himself in position to come back as fast as he can,” Mazzulla said. “He’s working hard.”

Brunson put up strong numbers during the regular season against Boston, averaging 26.7 points and 5.0 assists and shooting 43.3 percent from 3-point range.

The Knicks still were swept in four games, and only the last meeting was close, a two-point Celtics win in overtime at the Garden. 

Brunson’s health also is worth monitoring. He missed 15 games late in the regular season with a sprained right ankle, and it was an issue throughout the Pistons series.

He had to come out of four contests, most notably the Game 5 loss when he missed most of crunch time. The ankle seemed fine in Game 6, when he torched Detroit for 40 points and sank the series-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds. 

“He’s built for this s–t,” Mikal Bridges said after the dramatic win.