Just after Jalen Brunson powered his team through a 97-92 triumph in Philadelphia and took another step towards the playoff’s second round at 3-1 in the series, he told the press he would remember this moment forever. “I’ll look back when I retire,” he said. “Seriously. It’s great right now, it helped us get a win. But it’s not going to do anything for us going forward.”
The guard dropped 47 points and broke New York‘s postseason-scoring record, while also becoming the first Knick to post at least 40 points and 10 assists in a playoff match. Jalen also turned into the third athlete to have at least 45 points, 10 assists and 1 or none turnovers in the big stages, joining only Kevin Johnson and Damian Lillard.
Thousands of Knicks fans stormed the Wells Fargo Center to witness their star’s historic exhibition this Sunday afternoon, and rival Joel Embiid, who dropped 27 points, won 10 rebounds and handed out 6 assists yesterday, was not happy about it at all.
Jalen Brunson becomes the only player in NBA postseason history to have 85+ pts and 20+ assists in a two-game span.
Historic work by Brunson
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— KNICKS BEAST (@KnicksBeast) April 29, 2024
“One at a time,” he said, as Tuesday night is Game 5 at the Madison Square Garden. “We know we’re good enough. Tonight, we didn’t make shots, so we just got to keep trusting ourselves. We got no pressure. We’re the 7-seed down 3-1, a lot of guys are hurt.”
The Sixers big man tried his best to put the pressure off for the next game, which could potentially be their last. “I don’t know why we would feel the pressure. So we should just go out there and go out and play our best basketball and one at a time — win one, come back home, win another one and then Game 7 over there. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to it. Yeah. No pressure,” he insisted.
Brunson’s teammates also celebrated his historic display, as he shot 18-for-34 and grabbed four rebounds over 43 minutes of play. “Jalen’s a great player,” shared OG Anunoby.
“You come to expect it. You expect him to make every shot. He’s a great player. Even when he was cold the first couple of games, you knew he was going to turn it around. Just ’cause we see him every day. It was going to turn around eventually.”
Coach Tom Thibodeau explained why the Knicks team has only been getting stronger as the season progresses
The New York squad has been through a lot this campaign, especially after they played short handed by injuries at least the entire second half of regular season. Now, they’ve learned to play without stars like Julius Randle, and their coach is convinced that the team continues to improve throughout the year.
“I think we learned that throughout the course of the season,” said Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau, when explaining the secret formula behind his squad’s success. “Jalen has played at such an incredible high level all season long, and we can play off that.”
One of their biggest qualities, according to their coach, is the squad’s rebounding. The tactician gave special praise to other stars like Josh Hart and Anunoby. “We have a little bit of everything. And the rebounding has been terrific.
“Everyone questioned the rebounding with Josh [Hart] at the power forward. We’ve been the best rebounding team all year. Everyone questioned Jalen being a leader,” he expressed after the game in Philly. “We have a lot to prove. It takes four to win a series, that’s what we have to focus on.”
