The New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson was impressive in their win against the Phoenix Suns scoring a career-high of 50 points in one match.
Jalen had 17-of-23 from the field, 9-for-9 from three, 7-of-9 from the stripe. He also had nine assists, six rebounds, and five steals.
Brunson is the ninth player in franchise history to score 50 points. The other eight are Richie Guerin, Willis Reed, Bernard King, Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, Jamal Crawford, Carmelo Anthony, and Julius Randle.
He is also the fourth player in franchise history with a 50+ on 70%+ shooting. The other three are Patrick Ewing, Bernard King, and Willis Reed. Brunson shot 73.9 from the floor, none of the others went past 72.4%.
He added his name to the Suns record as the first player to score 30+ points without a miss in a single half in NBA history. He is also the first player to score 50+ points without missing a three-point shot attempting eight or more.
“It means a lot,” Brunson said after the game. “But, I mean, I try to focus on continuing to get better. We’ve got a long way to go. This is a good night, but we’ve got to bounce back and get ready for tomorrow.”
“I had no idea,” Brunson said about his perfect three-point performance. “I was just playing free.”
“It’s cool,” Brunson said. “I’m just happy about the win. That’s all I care about.”
The New York Knicks coach, Tom Thibodeau was in awe.
“The way he shot the ball was special,” Thibodeau said.
“I told his father, ‘He had your career in one night,” Thibodeau said, referring to assistant coach Rick Brunson. “It’s great, you want your players to achieve all the things they want to achieve but you want them to do it in the context of winning.”
