Jalen Brunson racks up fourth 40+point game in a row in Knicks’ Game 1 win

There ain’t no stopping Jalen Brunson now, as he continues to lead the Knicks into what seems destined to be historic run into title contention. The guard is posting the highest stats ever displayed by a New York player in a playoff scenario, as he just produced his fourth-straight 40+ point game. 

To top it off, the 27-year-old has been delivering in clutch moments, as he had another dominant fourth quarter this Monday. 21 of his 43 points came in the final stage, as the Knicks came out with a 121-117 victory over the Pacers.

The superstar has now become the first athlete in league history to ever post four consecutive 40-point, 5-assist postseason performances. “The little things can go a long way,” Brunson said.

Jalen Brunson through 7 playoff games:

🔥 BURNER 🔥 pic.twitter.com/tr0ekXeZ9D

— x – KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) May 7, 2024

“So yeah, the 40 points are cool and all, but it’s the little things that help us win games like that,” he added. “So I’m just happy I have the group of guys that I do. I just know that we’re going to fight every single day. That’s all I’m thinking about.”

In his past five matches, Jalen has scored or assisted on 321 points, which is the second most over this span in playoff history. He only trails Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic’s 329 points from their championship run in the last campaign.

Brunson is averaging 12.4 points per match in the fourth quarter over the past five contests. The guard dropped in 6 of 10 shots and was 8-of-8 from the line down the stretch, as he seemed invincible under pressure.

“You could go on and on every night, and the thing I love about him is he’s all about the team,” said his coachTom Thibodeau. “All he cares about is winning, and he cares about his teammates, and I think when that happens, he’s, in the end, what do we need? Do we need a big bucket? Whatever it is we need, he’ll provide.”

The referees admitted to have missed a crucial call that affected the Pacers with less than a minute to play

During the game, there was a very controversial play in which the officiating crew later admitted they had missed the call. “On the floor we felt that would be a kicked ball violation. Postgame review did show that it hit the defender’s hand, which would be legal,” said crew chief Zach Zarba.

The play occurred with 12.7 seconds left and Indiana only down a point with the ball. Center Myles Turner was called for a moving screen on Donte DiVincenzo as he attempted to free point his teammate Tyrese Haliburton.

The play was so close that they decided to challenge it, but it didn’t result in their favour. “We’re not expecting to get calls in here,” said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. “It would be nice if they laid off that one, but they didn’t. So that’s just the way it goes.”

Turner, on the other hand, gave credit to his opponent for knowing how to sell the foul. However, he decided to take the high road and not blame the defeat on this single play. “Just in my experience in this league, I think it’s best when players decide the outcome of the game,” he shared. “For the most part you can’t leave the game to be decided by the refs, so we have to take accountability as well.”