New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson etched himself into franchise history Friday night, putting in a dominant 50-point performance in their 139-122 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Jalen Brunson dominates in Knicks’ win over the Suns
Along with the 50 points, Brunson also finished the game with nine assists, six rebounds, and five steals and was a perfect 9-for-9 from three-point range, which tied an NBA record for most threes made without a miss in a game, according to The Athletic’s Fred Katz.
He is the first player in league history to have a 50+ point game while also shooting 100% from three on at least eight attempts, per KnicksMuse on X. Brunson is also the first Knick to record at least 40 points, five assists, and five steals in a single game since Walt Frazier in 1973.
The Knicks found themselves trailing Phoenix for the majority of this game, including by as much as 10 points late in the third quarter. That was before Brunson kicked things into high gear with an unreal second-half performance in which he scored 35 points on a flawless 12-for-12 shooting from the floor (including 8-for-8 from three).
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Brunson receives high praise from Suns’ Kevin Durant
Suns superstar forward Kevin Durant spoke very highly of Brunson after the game, deeming the Knicks “his franchise.”
“He’s going to be a Hall of Fame player by end of his career the way he’s playing out there,” said Durant via The New York Post.
After suffering an upset loss to the lowly Utah Jazz in which they shot 9-for-37 from three as a team in their game prior, they were going to need a big performance out of Brunson and he delivered in a historic fashion.
While this win was a big one, they’re going to need many more big games out of Brunson throughout the rest of the month, as their next nine games are against opponents with winning records, with a large majority of those being on the road.
Next up for the Knicks is the Los Angeles Clippers and their Big 4, who they will play Saturday night. The Clippers have started to figure things out of late, as they have won six consecutive games and eight of their last 10 overall.
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