Jalen Brunson knew he had to lead his New York Knicks Tuesday evening against the Indiana Pacers. New York had dropped consecutive games in Indiana after winning the first two outings of the Eastern Conference Finals in Madison Square Garden.
Brunson’s importance to the Knicks is magnified with the likes of OG Anunoby, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson all sidelined to injury.
Having already joined some elite company thus far in the NBA Playoffs, Brunson was more than up to the task. In what amounted to a must win, he dropped 44 points on 18-of-35 shooting while adding four rebounds and seven assists. The dude was absolutely electric as New York won by the score of 121-91.
This performance has New York on the brink of the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since all the way back in 2000.
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Jalen Brunson puts up fifth 40-point performance of NBA Playoffs, joins more elite company
We’re now looking at an all-time great NBA Playoff performance from Brunson as he morphs into a legitimate icon in the Big Apple.
Brunson is the first player to put up five 40-plus points in a single postseason since LeBron James back in 2018 (eight).
He also ties Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal behind four others with five such games in a single postseason. The list is absolutely insane.
- LeBron James (2018): 8
- Michael Jordan (1989): 7
- Allen Iverson (2001): 6
- Michael Jordan (1990, 1993): 6
- Bernard King (1984): 6
- Jalen Brunson (2024): 5
- Hakeem Olajuwon (1995): 5
- Shaquille O’Neal (2000): 5