Knicks Jalen Brunson joins Michael Jordan in rare air
Knicks Jalen Brunson joins Michael Jordan in rare air originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
From his roots winning a state championship at Stevenson High School to two national championships at Villanova, Jalen Brunson always has been about winning.
So his nonplussed reaction to joining some of the game's giants on a statistical basis with his current NBA playoff run shouldn't surprise.
"I'm just focused on the next game," Brunson said on Thursday's TNT broadcast---and repeatedly postgame in comments to reporters---when told he had reached a statistical milestone not posted since Michael Jordan in 1993 after his New York Knicks eliminated the Philadelphia 76ers.
Brunson's 41-point, 12- assist performance marked his fourth straight playoff game with 39 or more points. He joined Jordan, who did it in 1990 and 1993, Bernard King (whose franchise single-game scoring record Brunson broke with his 47-point Game 4) and Jerry West, who had six straight such games in 1965.
That's elite company.
So is this: Brunson joined Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history with at least 35 points and 10 assists in three games of one playoff series.
But guess what? All Brunson is focused on is winning. The Knicks now play host to the Indiana Pacers with a trip to the Eastern Conference finals at stake.
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