There's no stopping Jalen Brunson now, as he continues to lead the Knicks on what looks to be a historic title run. The guard is posting the highest stats ever by a New York player in the playoffs, as he just produced his fourth 40+ point game.
In addition, the 27-year-old has been coming up short, as he had another dominant fourth quarter on Monday. 21 of the 43 points came in the final quarter, as the Knicks beat the Pacers 121-117.
The superstar has now become the first athlete in league history to throw consecutive 40-point, 5-assist postseason games. “Little things can go a long way,” Brunson said.
Jalen Brunson in 7 playoff games:
🔥 HOT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/tr0ekXeZ9D
— x – KNICKS AT MSG (@KnicksMSGN) May 7, 2024
“So, 40 points is cool and all, but it's the little things that help us win games like that,” he added. “So I'm glad I have the group of guys I have. I just know that we will fight every day. That's all I can think of.”
In his last five games, Jalen has scored or assisted on 321 points, the second most during this stretch in playoff history. He trails only Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic's 329 points in their championship game last campaign.
Brunson is averaging 12.4 points per game in the fourth quarter over the past five contests. The guard made 6 of 10 shots and was 8-of-8 from the line, as he looked invincible under pressure.
“You can go on every night, and the thing I like about him is that he's about the team,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “The only concern is winning, and he cares about his teammates, and I think if that happens, in the end, what do we need? Do we need a big bucket? Whatever we need, he will give it to us.”
The referees admitted that they missed a crucial call that affected the Pacers with one minute left in the game
During the match, there was a controversial play where the team management later admitted that they missed the call. “On the ground, we thought that would be abuse of the kicked ball. “Postgame review showed it hit the quarterback's hand, which would have been legal,” said personnel officer Zach Zarba.
The play happened with 12.7 seconds left and Indiana down by just one point with the ball. Center Myles Turner was called for a moving screen on Donte DiVincenzo as he tried to clear the point to teammate Tyrese Haliburton.
The game was so close that they decided to challenge it but there was no consent from them. “We don't expect to get calls here,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “It would be good if they stopped that one, but they didn't. So that's just how it happened.”
Turner, on the other hand, gave credit to his opponent for being able to sell the issue. However, he decided to take the high road and not suspect defeat in this one game. “According to my experience in this league, I think it is best if the players decide the outcome of the game,” he said. “Most of the time you can't leave the game to be decided by the management, so we have to take responsibility.”
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