14 seconds. That’s how long it takes Jalen Brunson’s burner to heat up.
As the clock read 11:46 on the broadcast, Brunson scored his first basket of Friday’s game at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. All JB would do next is score 48 more points while barely missing any of the shots he threw.
The result? Knicks 139, Suns 122.
The stat line? 50 points, 17 of 23 from the field, 9 of 9 from three, 7 of 9 from the stripe. Nine assists. Six rebounds. Five interceptions.
Don’t take Brunson for granted, guys. He’s a walking gift wrapped in a Knicks uniform and we’re all here to enjoy the little man while he lasts. Take it to your advantage. Losing sleep. Watch them every game on your west coast trips. It’s worth it.
Brunson cooked a $50 hamburger in the desert under the three big, bright but cold suns and ate it whole. In one bite of history.
What Brunsolino did on Friday, miles and miles from his comfortable New York home, was unknown until a few hours ago.
Peep. I took the time to run and link the queries on Statistics head so you can get everything in the proper context. It doesn’t make sense anyway, because there is no match for this man.
- 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.
- Brunson is the first player in franchise history to score 50 points while making nine threes. Jamal Crawford and Julius Randle reached 50 but exceeded eight treys.
- Brunson is the fourth player in franchise history with 50+ shooting on 70%+. The other three are Patrick Ewing, Bernard King and Willis Reed. Brunson shot 73.9 from the floor, none of the others topped 72.4%.
- Brunson is the second player in franchise history with 40 points, five assists and five steals. Walt Frazier did it in 1977 and 1973.
- Brunson is the third player with a 50-5-9-5 line in NBA history. The other two are Michael Jordan and Rick Barry.
- Brunson is the first player scoring 30+ points without missing a single half in NBA history.
- Brunson is the first player score more than 50 points without missing a three-point shot while attempting eight or more.
- Brunson is the first player making 12 of 12 field goal attempts in a single half in Association history.
- Brunson is the first player make 8 of 8 on 3-pointers in a single half in Association history.
- Brunson is one of three players with the most 3-pointers on nine attempts without a miss. The other two are Ben Gordon (twice) and Latrell Sprewell (once).
And now for the quotes.
“It means a lot,” Brunson said after the game. “But I mean, I try to focus on continuing to improve. We have a long way to go. It’s a good night, but we need to bounce back and prepare for tomorrow.
“I had no idea,” Brunson said about his perfect three-point performance. “I was just playing for free.”
“It’s cool,” Brunson said. “I’m just happy with the win. That’s all that matters to me.
“The way he shot the ball was special,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
“I told his father: ‘He made your career in one night,'” Thibodeau said, referring to assistant coach Rick Brunson. “It’s great, you want your players to achieve everything they want, but you want them to do it in the context of winning.”
“I’m going to keep this safe for you,” RJ Barrett said as he grabbed the ball and secured it for good. “You’re going to want to have this ball forever.”
“It’s his franchise,” Kevin Durant said. “And he’ll be a Hall of Fame player by the end of his career, the way he’s playing out there.”
Jalen Brunson, take a bow.
Learn more
