Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson has emerged as a legitimate NBA star since signing in New York prior to last season, and he showed off his talents with a performance for the ages Friday night in a 139–122 win over the Suns in Phoenix.
Brunson scored a career-high 50 points, including 17-for-23 shooting from the field and 9-for-9 shooting from three-point range, along with nine assists, six rebounds and five steals. He became the first player in NBA history to score 50 points in a game without missing a three-pointer since the league adopted the three-point shot in 1979-80.
However, the 27-year-old’s accomplishments didn’t stop there. Brunson became the third player in NBA history with at least 50 points, nine assists, five rebounds and five steals, joining Hall of Famers Rick Barry (1974) and Michael Jordan (1988). He is also the first player in league history to produce 50 points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals and five three-pointers in a single game.
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Brunson was on fire all game, but he was particularly hot in the second half, when he scored 35 points on 12-of-12 shooting from the field, 8-of-8 three-point shooting. That’s the first time in NBA history when a player scored at least 30 points in a half on perfect shooting while taking at least 10 field goal attempts and five three-point attempts.
Brunson likely would want to keep the game ball from his historic game as memorabilia, and teammate Julius Randle retrieved the ball as time expired to make sure there wasn’t a repeat of the incident in Indianapolis on Wednesday, when Giannis Antetokounmpo raced down the arena tunnel in hopes of getting the game ball after scoring a franchise-record 64 points Wednesday night.
New York improved to 14–10 with the win, and Brunson is now averaging 25.6 points, 5.9 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. He also is shooting 46% from three-point range, far above his career high of 41.6% set last year.
The Knicks play at the Clippers (14–10) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET
