Getty Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks dribbles.
Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown used “hell of a player” four times and can only think of Stephen Curry to describe what New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson just did against their blitzing defense.
“Man, he’s a hell of a player,” Brown told reporters after Brunson scored 42 points to lift the Knicks to a 98-91 win against the Kings on Saturday, March 16, on the road. “I don’t know if– Steph [Curry] maybe––we blitzed anybody as much as we did Jalen tonight and he still scored 42 points on 50% from the 3, the rest of the [Knicks] team shot 34% and scored 56 points and they shot 21% from the 3.
Jalen shot 50% from the 3 and over 50% from the field and we sent the double team at him every single time he came off the pick-and-roll in the second half and probably half the time or so in the first half. He’s a hell of a player! Big game! He stepped up. He really helped them get it done tonight. I mean, Brunson, he’s a hell of a player. There are some things we cleaned up on him but man, he’s a hell of a player!”
Brunson scored on an array of buckets to become the only fourth in Knicks franchise history to record back-to-back 40-point games, joining Carmelo Anthony, Patrick Ewing and Bernard King.
But none bigger than the dagger he shot he made off Kings rookie Keon Ellis in the final 37 seconds.
Woke up thinking about this play🔥🔥
@jalenbrunson1 delivers every time!
Brunson shot 17 of 28 from the floor and 5 of 10 from deep in another scintillating performance just two nights after he torched the Portland Trail Blazers with 45 points. He added four steals, four rebounds and two assists.
Tom Thibodeau Cries Foul for His ‘Gifted Shotmaker’
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau lauded his star point guard’s mental toughness despite not getting the superstar calls.
“He’s just such a gifted shot maker and he’s a hard guy,” Thibodeau told reporters. “I don’t want to say too much but I felt like he’s getting hit a lot. But the best part of him is, he never complains and not crying. He’ll just keep going and he’ll focus on making the shot, which he did.”
Brunson went to the free throw line only four times against the Kings and sank three of them. In contrast, Kings star point guard De’Aaron Fox went 8 of 10 from the stripes.
“[Brunson] just kept going to drive the ball as many times as he does, and the physicality that he’d be in traps,” Thibodeau continued. “They’re pursuing him, they’re hitting him, and he only had four free throws. But that’s what I love about him. He’s tough-minded. He’ll figure it out. He knows how the game is being called. He knows that he’s on the road. It’s gonna be tough. That doesn’t slow him down. He doesn’t let the officials impact him in any way.”
Knicks’ Stifling Defense
The Knicks held the Kings to their fewest points in a home game this season. It was also the fifth straight game the Knicks have held their opponents to below 100 points, the longest streak by any team this season.
Only the Trail Blazers have scored the most (93 points) in this historic defensive stretch by the Knicks, which is the best they have ever looked in this century.
The Knicks have held five straight opponents:
Below 94 points
Below 41% shooting from the floor
Below 34% from three-point territory
Per @bball_ref, that’s the longest such streak by a Knicks team this century.