Jalen Brunson scored 42 points on Saturday night in a win on the road against the Sacramento Kings. Almost all of his scoring was needed, as the New York Knicks did not crack triple-digits scoring in their final total.
Brunson tonight:
42 PTS
4 STL
5-10 3POnly Melo has more 40-point games in a season for the Knicks this century. https://t.co/7LVgHm1XLg
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 17, 2024
Brunson’s game came after a 45-point outing in a win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. The 27-year-old is now just the fourth player in team history with back-to-back 40+ point games.
The Knicks’ 98-91 victory on Saturday improved their record to 40-27.
Brunson Becomes Fourth Knick Ever to Achieve Scoring Feat
Brunson Joins Three Knick Legends in History Books
In becoming the fourth Knick ever with back-to-back 40+ point games, Brunson has joined a list of legendary Knick players.
The first to accomplish the scoring feat for the Knicks was Bernard King. The 2013 Basketball Hall of Famer scored at least 40 points in back-to-back games on four separate occasions for New York. King scored 50 in two straight games on January 31 and February 1, 1984. The other three times came in the 1984-85 season. He had a string of three straight 40+ point contests in that season. He became the first New York player to win a scoring title in 1984-85.
Unsurprisingly, Patrick Ewing is on this list, as he owns many of the team’s records, including career points. He was able to score at least 40 in back-to-back games twice, both taking place in the 1989-90 season. That season, the 2008 Basketball Hall of Famer averaged a career-high 28.6 points.
The most recent Knicks player to do so was Carmelo Anthony, before Brunson. Anthony became the second Knicks player to win a scoring title in 2012-13. That season, he scored 40+ in three straight games from April 2-5, 2013. He had back-to-back 40+ point games once as well in the 2013-14 season.
Brunson will look to become the third Knicks player ever with 40+ points in three straight games when they play the Golden State Warriors on Monday.
A Career Year for Brunson Scoring the Ball
Last season, his first with the Knicks, Brunson put together a career-best in his fifth year in the league. New York advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2013. This season, he has taken it a step further.
Brunson was named to his first All-Star Game in February. He will likely become an All-NBA member for the first time after the season.
With 87 points in his last two outings, Brunson has raised his scoring average to 27.5 in 2023-24. That is 3.5 more points than his previous career-high of 24.0 from last season. His 27.5 points per game place him fifth in the NBA.
With 15 regular season games remaining, New York sits in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. They are three games behind the second-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and two behind the third-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks have a one-game cushion over the Orlando Magic, the current fifth seed.
