Knicks’ Jalen Brunson joins ‘elite company’ with another stellar showing in Game 1
Jalen Brunson’s been spectacular after a bit of a slow start this postseason.
The All-Star point guard took games over during the Knicks’ opening-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers and helped them advance after six back-and-forth contests.
And when New York opened their second round against the high-scoring Indiana Pacers on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, Brunson picked up right where he left off.
The 26-year-old was absolutely fantastic as he made huge shots down the stretch again in a back-and-forth fourth quarter to help pull out a 121-117 victory and take the early-series advantage.
Brunson reeled in six rebounds and dished six assists, but most importantly, he finished with 43 points making him the first player since Michael Jordan to record 40+ points in four consecutive playoff games.
He’s also just the fifth player in NBA history to record 30+ points and 5+ assists in five consecutive playoff games joining Oscar Robertson, MJ, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James.
“It’s elite company,” Tom Thibodeau said. “It’s the impact that it’s having on us too, it’s not empty stats, they’re stats that are impacting winning. If he gets double-teamed he doesn’t fight it, he gets off it, and then if he gets into the paint and they collapse it opens second opportunities for us.”
"He's been doing this ever since we've moved together in college," Donte DiVincenzo added. "It's the preparation mixed with the opportunity, opportunity presents itself to him and he takes full advantage of it. He's always had this, it's just now you guys are seeing this on this stage."
While Brunson is honored to have his name up there with such prestigious, right now the Villanova product isn't worried about the individual accolades.
"The little things go a log way," he said. "The 40-points are cool and all but it's the little things that help us win games like that. I'm just happy to have the group of guys that I do and I just know we're going to fight every single day, that's all I'm thinking about right now."
