Finals Bound
“I work way too hard not to be confident” - Jalen Brunson.
Final Score: Knicks 132 - Magic 120
Record: 18-7
If a game has added juice and there’s something extra on the line, you want Jalen Brunson on your side.
Luckily for Knicks fans, Captain Clutch wears New York across his chest.
In a contest reminiscent of past playoff performances, Brunson authored a brilliant offensive outburst in Saturday’s victory over Orlando. The win pushed the Knicks into the NBA Cup Finals. (Surprisingly, New York will take on San Antonio Tuesday night, as the Spurs knocked off the OKC Thunder in the evening’s other semifinals matchup.
Brunson scored 25 in the first half and finished with 40 points (16-of-27 FGs, 6-of-9 FTs), four rebounds, eight assists, one steal and two three-pointers. It was the fourth straight game in which JB reached the 30-point plateau, as this young man somehow manages to exceed even the highest expectations.
He scored on all three levels in this one, while also leading both teams in assists.
Speaking on the Prime broadcast postgame, Brunson talked about his uncanny ability to take over games despite his diminutive stature and athletic limitations. “It’s something I had to learn. Obviously, I’m not the tallest, and I’m not jumping over people,” Brunson said. “My game’s unique. I play off balance. I’m on balance, but most people wouldn’t be. That’s the stuff I work on, just be deceiving. I’ve done it for a long time, and it keeps getting better and better.
“I work way too hard not to be confident,’ Brunson added.
It was the 27th time in his Knicks career (regular season and postseason combined) that he scored 40+ points. The only other Knicks ahead of Brunson are Bernard King (30) and Patrick Ewing (32).
It was the 19th time JB has dished out more than five dimes in one of the 40-point outbursts. To put that number into context, that’s eight more such games than every other point guard in Knicks franchise history combined!
