With Sunday’s 44-point efficiency, Jalen Brunson additional etched his identify into the Knicks file books.
Brunson now boasts 17 video games with at the very least 40 factors as a Knick, tying him with Carmelo Anthony for the third most in franchise historical past.
Patrick Ewing, who achieved the feat 30 occasions, and Bernard King, who did so 23 occasions, are the one gamers in Knicks historical past with extra 40-point video games.
“When you start getting mentioned in those categories, it’s a credit to him,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau stated of Brunson. “He’s such a self-made guy, and his talent speaks for itself. You can’t do those things without great talent, but to also have the humility that he has. For him, he just wants to win.”
Sunday’s 140-106 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at Madison Sq. Backyard marked Brunson’s 183rd recreation with the Knicks. Anthony performed 412 video games with the Knicks, whereas Ewing performed 1,039 and King performed 206.
Ewing was in attendance Sunday for Brunson’s newest 40-point explosion. It was Brunson’s second 40-point recreation of the season.
Brunson scored 23 factors within the first quarter, starting the sport in assault mode because the Knicks sought to bounce again from a sobering 25-point loss to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder on the Backyard two days earlier.
It might have been a fair greater recreation for Brunson, had he not missed about six minutes within the third quarter after a collision left him with what Thibodeau described as a shoulder stinger.
Brunson scored 12 factors after coming back from the locker room and stated after the sport that he felt “great.”
“It was just important for us to go out there and play as best we can,” Brunson, 28, stated. “The defense, the way we saw it, I was able to get into the paint and make plays.”
Carmelo Anthony with the Knicks in 2017. (Elsa/Getty Photographs)
The Knicks had misplaced 4 of 5 video games going into Sunday’s. Brunson shot 16-of-26 from the sector, together with 5-of-10 from 3-point vary, and went 7-of-8 on free throws.
Brunson has usually operated as a distributor this season, however the level guard has additionally taken over offensively when the Knicks want him to. He scored 19 factors within the first quarter of a Dec. 6 win over the Charlotte Hornets and exploded for 55 factors in an additional time victory at Washington on Dec. 28.
“If Jalen scores two points and we win, he’s as happy as if he scores 44 and we win,” Thibodeau stated. “That’s the beauty of his game. He’ll adjust to whatever is needed.”
Ewing and King are each Corridor of Famers, whereas Anthony, who ranks tenth in scoring in NBA historical past, is eligible for induction subsequent 12 months.
This isn’t the primary time Brunson has discovered himself in elite firm. Final 12 months, Brunson turned the fourth NBA participant with 4 consecutive 40-point playoff performances, becoming a member of King, Michael Jordan and Jerry West.
Brunson is in his third season with the Knicks, whom he signed a four-year, $104 million contract with in 2022 after spending his first 4 NBA seasons with the Dallas Mavericks.
Over the summer season, the Knicks signed Brunson to a four-year, $156.5 million extension and named him the thirty sixth captain in workforce historical past.
Brunson started Monday averaging 25.5 factors and seven.5 assists per recreation, each of which led the Knicks, and seems poised for his second consecutive All-Star choice. Within the newest All-Star replace, Brunson ranked fourth amongst guards in fan voting.
“He’s going to be an All-Star,” teammate Josh Hart stated after Sunday’s win. “I think he should be a starter. I think he should garner that level of respect.”
