Getty Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks reacts after making a three-point shot.
Four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal had seen and played against someone who resembles New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson.
In the NBA Finals.
O’Neal mentioned Brunson in the same breath as former league MVP Allen Iverson in making a case for the Knicks star as one of this season’s NBA All-Star starters in the East.
“I chose Jalen Brunson. He’s talked about as a small guard and him not being able to carry a team but he’s a bad [expletive],” O’Neal said on Inside the NBA on TNT on Tuesday, January 23. “And he plays great ball so I wanted to give him the nod. Donovan Mitchell will also be there. He’s also playing great but I haven’t seen a small guy do whatever he wants to do since Iverson. So, I like Brunson.”
O’Neal with Kobe Bryant on his side beat Iverson in the 2001 NBA Finals in five games. The Los Angeles Lakers went 15-1 in that year’s postseason with their only loss coming at the hands of Iverson’s Philadelphia 76ers. Iverson averaged a series-best 35.6 points against the Lakers.
While Iverson and Brunson are both small guards, they have been dominant in different ways.
With his light frame, Iverson used his quickness and a wicked crossover to score in bunches. On the other hand, the 6-foot-2 Brunson, who is built like a tank, has been destroying opponents with his deft footwork around the rim and his improved outside shooting to solidify himself as one of the league’s rising stars.
Brunson is averaging a career-high 26.6 points and 6.5 assists this season while shooting 42.3% from 3.
Over his last 10 games since the Knicks acquired OG Anunoby, a floor-spacing 3-and-D player, Brunson has hiked his numbers to 29.0 points and 8.0 assists.
Mikal Bridges Miffed by Pro-Knicks Crowd in Home Loss
Brunson’s 30-point gem foiled Mikal Bridges‘ career night as the Knicks stormed back from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets 108-103 on January 23.
Bridges had a game-high 36 points built on a career-high 7 3-pointers but it was not enough for the free-falling Nets, who have lost 16 of their last 20 games.
What made Bridges more upset was that a predominantly Knicks crowd invaded the Barclays Center.
“It’s not fun when you feel like you’re in an away game at home,” Bridges told reporters after the game. “That’s for any person sitting in here, any person alive. It’s not fun.”
Knicks guard Josh Hart, Brunson and Bridges’ Villanova teammate, quickly reacted to Bridges’ complaints.
“Yo bro [Bridges] call me,” Hart posted on X (formerly Twitter) quoting Bridges’ viral video, triggering fans to speculate about a potential reunion for the former teammates.
Isaiah Hartenstein Remains Day-to-Day
Isaiah Hartenstein missed his first Knicks game of the season with sore Achilles, the same injury that bothered him when he arrived in New York last season.
“He’s dealt with it a while,” coach Tom Thibodeau said via the New York Post about Hartenstein’s injury before the game.
Thibodeau added the German-American center’s status is “day-to-day.”
Without Hartenstein, Jericho Sims admirably filled in as a starter and delivered a career-high four blocks, six points, and four rebounds with two assists. Precious Achiuwa, a throw-in in the Anunoby deal, closed out for the Knicks and finished with nine rebounds, six points and two assists. Achiuwa was a game-high plus-13 in his second straight impactful game.
In a Knicks win against his former team, the Toronto Raptors, on January 20, Achiuwa had a double-double (18 points and 11 rebounds).