Knicks Star Jalen Brunson Reaches Another Michael Jordan Landmark

New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson is picking the perfect times to be like Mike.

Brunson's latest effort, which secured the Knicks' latest Eastern Conference quarterfinal series victory, matched one of Michael Jordan's rarer, if not more unique, postseason accomplishments.

As documented by @OptaStats on X, Brunson's 40-point, seven-assist showing in Thursday night's Game 6 win over the Detroit Pistons makes him one of two players to have earned at least 40 and five in the respective categories in multiple series-clinching victories on the road. The only other to pull off the feat is Jordan, who did so in 1989, 1992, and 1996.

The @nyknicks' Jalen Brunson:

2024: 41 points & 12 assists in Philadelphia to eliminate 76ers

2025: 40 points & 7 assists in Detroit to eliminate Pistons

The only other NBA player to have 40+ points & 5+ assists in a road closeout win twice in his career is Michael Jordan. pic.twitter.com/1TbIeJAxvv
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) May 2, 2025

Brunson, the NBA's newly-minted Clutch Player of the Year, previously posted such a box score in last year's closeout in Philadelphia, when he had 41 and 12 in the 118-115 win over the 76ers.

The Knicks captain and point guard even closed out Thursday's game in Jordan-esque style, shaking off defender Ausar Thompson and breaking loose for a three-pointer with five seconds remaining. That fateful fling proved to be the difference in the Knicks' 116-113 clincher, which set up a second-round date with the defending champion Boston Celtics.

Pairing Brunson with His Airness has been an increasingly common playoff exercise: earlier this postseason, for example, Brunson became the first player to open a playoff run with four consecutive 30-point showings since Jordan did so at the onset of his last championship run with the Chicago Bulls in 1998.

Even so, Brunson stayed humble as the victor, crediting his fellow Knicks for the hard-fought victory that makes New York one of two teams to secure at least one postseason victory in each of the last three NBA tournaments.

"I stay poised and I rely on the trust and composure that my teammates give me," Brunson said in video from SNY. "Obviously, everybody's going to say a lot about the last shot. But throughout the game, the ups and downs of it, we all stayed composed ... I've got to give a lot credit to my teammates. None of this happens without them."

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