Getty Jessica Alba
Actress Jessica Alba became a trending a topic online when she pulled up at the celebrity row of the Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night to watch the New York Knicks defeat the Miami Heat 111-105 in Game 2 to tie their NBA Eastern Conference Semifinal series.
Who’s at the Garden tonight for Game 2? 👀
It turned out Alba received an invitation to watch the game from Knicks All-Star forward Julius Randle, who just returned from an ankle injury. The 42-year-old actress, who is married to film producer Cash Warren, posted a video on Instagram thanking Randle.
“Congrats @nyknicks on the W! 🎉 Thank you @juliusrandle30 for the invite, you are a kind soul 🙏🏽 and it was awesome watching your leadership on the court. 🏀 Also – @madelyncline you are the sweetest and now my girls think I’m kind of cool, 😜” posted on her Instagram.
Julius Randle’s Best Playoff Game
Randle went on to put a show in front of Alba and the other celebrities, which included Madelyn Cline, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, Jerry Ferrara, Spike Lee, former Knick Carmelo Anthony and the new New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The two-time All-Star dropped a playoff career-high 25 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists as the Knicks survived a gritty Heat team missing their top stars Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro and key reserve Victor Oladipo.
All I’m saying is if I was playing in front of Jessica Alba at the Garden I would’ve dropped 50
It was Randle’s first game back after re-injuring his left ankle in the first half of their opening round series-clinching win in Game 5 in Cleveland on April 26.
“It was hell,” Randle told reporters of what he went through to get back from two ankle injuries over the past month. “Just every day around the clock, trying to get my body right. I don’t have a problem doing the work. Mentally, it’s a grind, but like I said I just want to make myself available for the team and you know whatever I can give the team to try to help us get a win. That’s what matters so I’m just happy that I was able to be out there and contribute and help us get a win.”
Jalen Brunson Pays Tribute to Carmelo Anthony
It wasn’t only Randle, who had a big night in Game 2.
Jalen Brunson also waxed hot especially in the second half as the Knicks star point guard scored 23 of his game-high 30 points in the final two quarters.
Brunson became the first player in Knicks history to have a 30-point playoff game since Carmelo Anthony in 2013. After the game, Anthony dapped with Brunson and several other Knicks players.
Once a Knick, always a Knick.
“That’s always good when you see a legend like that,” Brunson said of Anthony during his postgame interview. It was a special night the way the fans were. They kept cheering us on, and just to see all the guys who wore the Knicks jersey in the past come back, it’s always special. So it’s always really cool.”
Brunson, who played with a sore right ankle, overcame a sluggish start. After a 1-of-6 shooting in the first half, he came out of halftime on fire. He scored 13 points in the third quarter that kept the Knicks afloat and dropped 10 in the game-turning 14-3 run in the fourth quarter. He shot 9-of-13 in the second half to end the night on 10-of-19 field goal shooting and 6-of-10 from deep.