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Few players in NBA history have delivered postseason production quite like Jalen Brunson’s.
On Thursday, Brunson became the fourth player ever to record 10 games of at least 30 points and at least five assists in a single playoff run.
The others?
Michael Jordan, who achieved the feat three times.
LeBron James, who also did it in three different postseasons.
And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who, like Brunson, joined that exclusive club this year as he led his Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA Finals.
Brunson’s 10th such performance came in Thursday’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, when his 32 points and five assists helped lead the Knicks to a 111-94 win over the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden.
“He was cooking, that’s what I saw,” Karl-Anthony Towns said of Brunson after that Game 5 win. “When he’s playing like that and he’s hitting shots, obviously it energizes everyone.”
Of course, there is context to those numbers.
The NBA postseason did not expand to four rounds until 1984, and the first round did not become a best-of-seven series until 2003.
The Knicks needed six games to get past the Detroit Pistons in the first round and six games to eliminate the Boston Celtics in the second round, awarding Brunson more opportunities to reach those statistics.
Thursday marked Brunson’s 17th game of the postseason.
But his company is undeniably elite.
Jordan became the first player with 10 games of 30+ points and 5+ assists in a single postseason in 1989.
He repeated the feat in 1990 and 1992.
Jordan’s Chicago Bulls lost in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1989 and 1990, and they won the NBA Finals in 1992.
James, meanwhile, achieved those numbers in 2015, 2017 and 2018. He was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers all three years and lost in the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors each time.
Brunson entered Saturday night’s Game 6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis averaging 30.1 points and 7.0 assists per game this postseason.
In the games after Knicks losses, Brunson was averaging 31.9 points and 7.3 assists. The Knicks were 6-1 in those games, and Brunson posted a plus/minus of +71.
“I wanted to [set the tone], for sure,” Brunson said after Game 5, when he scored 14 points in the first quarter. “But it was more than putting the ball in the basket. I mean, that happened, but just trying to make sure we’re all on the same page and ready to go and just trying to give everyone energy.”
Thursday’s game was Brunson’s 21st playoff performance with at least 30 points as a member of the Knicks in 41 opportunities.
Earlier in the postseason, Brunson set the Knicks record for career 30-point games in the playoffs, passing Patrick Ewing, who had 18 in 135 games — albeit in a lower-scoring era of the NBA.
Brunson made illustrious history last postseason, too, when he became the fifth player with five consecutive games of at least 30 points and at least five assists. The others are Jordan, James, Oscar Robertson and Kobe Bryant.
Last year also saw Brunson become the fourth player with four consecutive 40-point playoff games, joining Jordan, Jerry West and Bernard King.
Continue reading...
On Thursday, Brunson became the fourth player ever to record 10 games of at least 30 points and at least five assists in a single playoff run.
The others?
Michael Jordan, who achieved the feat three times.
LeBron James, who also did it in three different postseasons.
And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who, like Brunson, joined that exclusive club this year as he led his Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA Finals.
Brunson’s 10th such performance came in Thursday’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, when his 32 points and five assists helped lead the Knicks to a 111-94 win over the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden.
“He was cooking, that’s what I saw,” Karl-Anthony Towns said of Brunson after that Game 5 win. “When he’s playing like that and he’s hitting shots, obviously it energizes everyone.”
Of course, there is context to those numbers.
The NBA postseason did not expand to four rounds until 1984, and the first round did not become a best-of-seven series until 2003.
The Knicks needed six games to get past the Detroit Pistons in the first round and six games to eliminate the Boston Celtics in the second round, awarding Brunson more opportunities to reach those statistics.
Thursday marked Brunson’s 17th game of the postseason.
But his company is undeniably elite.
Jordan became the first player with 10 games of 30+ points and 5+ assists in a single postseason in 1989.
He repeated the feat in 1990 and 1992.
Jordan’s Chicago Bulls lost in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1989 and 1990, and they won the NBA Finals in 1992.
James, meanwhile, achieved those numbers in 2015, 2017 and 2018. He was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers all three years and lost in the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors each time.
Brunson entered Saturday night’s Game 6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis averaging 30.1 points and 7.0 assists per game this postseason.
In the games after Knicks losses, Brunson was averaging 31.9 points and 7.3 assists. The Knicks were 6-1 in those games, and Brunson posted a plus/minus of +71.
“I wanted to [set the tone], for sure,” Brunson said after Game 5, when he scored 14 points in the first quarter. “But it was more than putting the ball in the basket. I mean, that happened, but just trying to make sure we’re all on the same page and ready to go and just trying to give everyone energy.”
Thursday’s game was Brunson’s 21st playoff performance with at least 30 points as a member of the Knicks in 41 opportunities.
Earlier in the postseason, Brunson set the Knicks record for career 30-point games in the playoffs, passing Patrick Ewing, who had 18 in 135 games — albeit in a lower-scoring era of the NBA.
Brunson made illustrious history last postseason, too, when he became the fifth player with five consecutive games of at least 30 points and at least five assists. The others are Jordan, James, Oscar Robertson and Kobe Bryant.
Last year also saw Brunson become the fourth player with four consecutive 40-point playoff games, joining Jordan, Jerry West and Bernard King.
Continue reading...
