Julius Randle is out until the playoffs? No problem ! In New York, we recruited Jalen Brunson to be a leader by example, and the Knicks point guard simply signed his best career game in a sumptuous duel with Donovan Mitchell. In a taste of the first round of the playoffs, since the Cavaliers and the Knicks have a good chance of finding each other, the New York point guard planted 48 points in an impressive victory in Cleveland.
It’s his career high, and Brunson put his teammates on the right track with 33 points in the first period, but also a 7 of 12 from 3-point range and 9 assists. A monstrous match from him when he had been less visible for a few weeks, due to glitches in one foot and one hand.
“Guys, you’ve seen this all year…I don’t think there’s anything that surprises you about him anymore, and that’s a testament to his strength of character” says Tom Thibodeau. “He is always mentally very tough, especially when there is adversity. He’s a little beat up, but he’s a machine. He continues to move forward. And I think he’s the best leader you can have.”
The 50 points for the next time?
Allowing himself to dominate Mitchell is not given to everyone this season. Tonight, the All-Star fullback planted his first eight shots of the game to end the first quarter with 23 points! But Brunson answered him tit-for-tac with 21 points after twelve minutes.
“There’s nothing fun…Donovan Mitchell can do that anytime, anytime during the game. There’s a reason he’s so special.” comments Brunson. “I have to congratulate my teammates and my coaches. They make it easy for me, and they trust me. The ball just had to go into the hole… I just kept confident in my shot. »
In the end, the only small disappointment is to have missed the 50 points. He had the right shot 30 seconds from the end, at one of his favorite places, but he missed it.
“Who wouldn’t want to score 50 points? » he replies when asked if he was aiming for this mark. “I was going to drop the ball, but as they doubled up, I thought they wanted to go all the way. It wasn’t disrespectful to them. They played up the mermaid. »
| Jalen Brunson | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2018-19 | DAL | 73 | 22 | 46.7 | 34.8 | 72.5 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 9.3 |
| 2019-20 | DAL | 57 | 18 | 46.6 | 35.8 | 81.3 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 8.2 |
| 2020-21 | DAL | 68 | 25 | 52.3 | 40.5 | 79.5 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 12.6 |
| 2021-22 | DAL | 79 | 32 | 50.2 | 37.3 | 84.0 | 0.5 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 16.3 |
| 2022-23 | NYK | 66 | 35 | 48.8 | 41.0 | 83.4 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 6.1 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 23.6 |
| Total | 343 | 27 | 49.2 | 38.4 | 81.3 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 14.1 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
