Five-Whoa! Jalen Brunson Reaches New York Knicks, NBA History With 50-Point Game
Jalen Brunson was the (Wild)cat's meow on Friday night against the Phoenix Suns.
The New York Knicks' primary point guard got the team's fortunes back on track with not only a surprising 139-122 victory on the road over the Phoenix Suns but a dominant scoring effort that proved historic: Brunson scored 50 points on 17-of-23 shooting from the field, including a perfect 9-of-9 tally from three-point range.
“Tonight was one of those nights for him. He’s a great scorer, he’s got the confidence. When he gets hot they continue to get him the ball. He missed two free throws but was 9-for-9 from three," Suns forward Kevin Durant lauded, per John Flanigan of SNY. "That’s his franchise, they all support him and put him in the best position to be great. Hall of Fame player by the end of his career the way he’s playing up there. If he keeps this up he’s on great pace to do that.”
With Brunson getting hot in the desert, All Knicks looks back on Brunson's historic evening, compiling 17 facts and figures behind his big night. In honor of the three-point prowess, we separate the accomplishments into three categories: personal, team, and national.
(All stats courtesy Basketball-Reference)
Personal
-Brunson's 50 points were a career-best. He also set his previous scoring record with the Knicks last March, putting up 48 in a win over Cleveland.
-Brunson's five steals were also tied for the most robberies he's had in a single game, previously doing so with the Dallas Mavericks in a January 2022 triumph over Memphis.
-Brunson is only the second Villanova alum to score 50 points in a single game, joining Saddiq Bey (51 with Atlanta in March 2022).
Brunson celebrates three of his 50 points during Friday's win
Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
Knicks
-Brunson is the newest member of the Knicks' 50-point club and the earner of the 18th such game in team history. The nine-man group includes Bernard King (five times), Richie Guerin (three times), Carmelo Anthony, Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston (twice each), Jamal Crawford, Julius Randle, and Willis Reed.
-Combined with a 57-point outing from Randle in a March loss to Minnesota, Brunson's tally creates the first instance of 50-point games for different players in consecutive Knicks for the first time in franchise history.
-Alas for Brunson, he wasn't the first Knick to go 9-for-9 from deep in a single game: that honor instead goes to Latrell Sprewell, who earned it in a February 2003 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
-Brunson is the first Knick to score 50 in a win since Anthony's franchise 62-point showing over the Charlotte Bobcats in January 2014.
-Brunson's nine assists were the most in a 50-point game for a Knick with the exception of Guerin's 13 in his third and final such showing in 1962. He is, however, the first Knick to pull off the feat with five steals.
-Brunson is just the seventh Knick to have at least nine three-pointers in a single game. J.R. Smith (2014) and Evan Fournier (2022) share the record at 10 while Brunson joins the company of Anthony, Sprewell, Toney Douglas, and John Starks (Smith also had a nine-triple game in 2014, making him the only Knick with two).
-Of the nine Knicks to score 50, Brunson used his time best, needing a franchise-low 35 minutes to hit the magic tally (best King's 52-point mark against Indiana from 1984 by a minute)
-Brunson is just the fifth Knick listed as a guard to shoot 73 percent from the field with a minimum of 20 attempts, joining Houston (twice), Walt "Clyde" Frazier, Stephon Marbury, and Nate Robinson.
-Brunson and the Knicks immediately return to action against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET, MSG). King is the last and only Knick to have back-to-back 50-point games (doing so in 1987) while Damian Lillard is the last Association rep to do so (2020). Friday opponent Bradley Beal did so on consecutive nights with Washington, also in 2020.
-On a relatively smaller note, Brunson also earned his seventh 40-point game, just the seventh New Yorker to earn that tally but needing less than two seasons to do so.
NBA
-Brunson is just the third player in NBA history to post a perfect night from three-point range with a minimum of a record nine attempts. He and Sprewell are joined by Ben Gordon, who did so twice (2006, 2012).
-Brunson also becomes just the third player in Association history to score 50, help on nine, rebound five, and steal five each since Michael Jordan in 1988. The trio is rounded out by Rick Barry.
-On a 17-of-23 shooting night, Brunson is the ninth 50-point scorer to shoot at least 73 percent from the field while trying at least eight three-pointers.
-Brunson succeeded in both the conventional and advanced box scores. With a game score of 51.4, Brunson posted the 10th-best game by that metric and the best so far this season. (Read the formula for game score calculation, created by John Hollinger, here).
