Vincent Frank
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson now belongs on the same list as all-time great franchise legends Willis Reed, Walt Frazier and Patrick Ewing.
Now, he’s not yet on a Hall of Fame trajectory. But what we saw from the big-time free agent signing in Game 5 of New York’s Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup against the Miami Heat Wednesday night was nothing short of extraordinary.
With New York facing elimination in front of its home crowd inside Madison Square Garden, Brunson used the Mecca of the basketball world as his own personal playground.
Hours after being snubbed of an All-NBA Team, Brunson played all 48 minutes in Game 5. He responded by scoring 38 points while grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out seven assists on 12-of-22 shooting. Brunson also turned the ball over just one time.
His all-around game was near perfect. That included taking Heat defenders off the dribble:
Hitting on just 28% of his shots from distance in the series heading in, Jalen Brunson also nailed four big-time three-pointers in the 112-103 win:
Brunson became the first New York Knicks player since Stephon Marbury back in 2004 to play in all 48 minutes of a playoff game.
That’s not the extent of the history that we saw from the Brunson and the Knicks as they extended their season Wednesday night.
Just recently inserted into the starting lineup, Quentin Grimes joined Brunson in playing all 48 minutes. He also came up with a huge steal of Jimmy Butler seconds after suffering a knee injury late in the fourth quarter:
They are the first pair of Knicks teammates to play all 48 in a postseason game since Walt Frazier and Jerry Lucas against the Boston Celtics back in 1972.
New York Knicks extend season as Jalen Brunson awes inside MSG
An argument can be made that Brunson is the top modern free agent signing around the NBA not named LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
What he has done in helping change the trajectory of the long downtrodden Knicks has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Putting it all out there for 48 minutes is foreign in an NBA that’s been defined by load management. Playing at a high level as the game progressed with his team’s season on the line is just otherworldly. Doing it against a player in Jimmy Butler who has made history himself in the 2023 playoffs adds another layer to that.
Brunson and his Knicks now head to South Beach for Game 6 Friday night with a chance to bring this one back to New York City.
Jalen Brunson has an opportunity to further etch his name in the lore of Big Apple basketball after what we saw Wednesday evening.
