This was Jalen Brunson's moment. Donté DiVincenzo would make sure of it.
The two New York Knicks sat in front of reporters after Brunson's explosion in Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers, a 43-point performance that has become commonplace for the All-Star point guard. Nowadays, a Brunson scoring explosion is as rare as Tom Thibodeau's burst blood vessel.
Brunson has scored 40 points in four consecutive playoff games. The only other players in league history to accomplish the same feat are Jerry West, who had a six-game streak, Michael Jordan (four), and Bernard King (four).
As a reporter listed Brunson's impressive company, DiVincenzo noticed one standout and interrupted.
“Michael Jordan,” he said excitedly, turning to Brunson as a wide smile dominated his cheeks.
Brunson looked at his friend as if DiVincenzo was mocking him for an 0-for-20 failure.
“If you know my friends,” Brunson said the next day, “you should know that they are all——-. …Usually everyone is sarcastic, so I tried to stop him before he went any further.”
Best friends only show kindness behind each other's backs. And behind Brunson's is a shrine of achievement that excites DiVincenzo every second.
Brunson is the first player in NBA history with 40 points and five assists in four consecutive playoff games. He is only the second player in history, behind only West, with five consecutive playoff games with 39 or more.
He's averaging 36.6 points during the postseason, which leads the NBA, along with 8.6 assists. The only player who had those numbers for a postseason was Russell Westbrook, who did it in 2016-17 with much less efficient shooting and in only five games, four of which his team lost.
“I'm very proud of him, just knowing what kind of person he is,” DiVincenzo said of Brunson. “He doesn't accept praise and praise and all that. He doesn't take it well. He is always trying to improve. He always knows there will be more skeptics, more things to improve. That is the beauty of him as a person.”
The Pacers, who trail the Knicks 1-0 in their second-round series, witness the beauty of basketball.
Indiana threw several defenders at Brunson in Game 1, a 121-117 New York victory. The long, physical Aaron Nesmith guided him to start. Andrew Nembhard, a tough guard, took over later. Point guard TJ McConnell, whom Josh Hart so affectionately referred to as “an annoying little…” earlier this week, also faced Brunson.
None of that led to much success.
Brunson's 43 points came on 14-of-26 shooting; He made all 14 of his free throws. The Pacers were one of the worst foul culprits during the regular season. He showed.
These are the types of shots the Knicks can expect from Brunson in this series. Indiana's defenders noticeably stick to potential shooters lining up on the perimeter. He prevents three-point attempts, which the Pacers rarely give up. And he funnels drivers to center Myles Turner, one of the league's premier rim protectors. But he also leaves the middle open.
No one allowed more shots in the paint during the regular season than Indiana. The trend continued in Game 1, even for Brunson. Fifteen of his shots were inside the paint, many of them in the floating range that Brunson can feast on while he neutralizes Turner's shot-blocking.
Brunson may have gotten hot during the previous series when the Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in six games, but it wasn't because Philadelphia gave him the middle.
The Sixers surrounded him with long defenders, many of whom fell on him every time he got close to the rim. Finally, he settled it, scoring 39 points in Game 3, 47 in Game 4, 40 in Game 5 and 41 in Game 6, which secured the victory.
Few people have reached these figures; Not that Brunson boasted about himself any more than his friends would to his face.
“I understand what's going on, so it's definitely pretty cool, and it makes it better knowing that the most important thing is that it's a win, but honestly, no matter what the situation is, whether it's positive or negative, I have to come”. come back and be better,” Brunson said. “In the last series, in the first two games I was terrible and, for me, I have to be better, so I have to put that in the back of my mind. This is the same”.
The Pacers trapped Brunson within moments, but he got rid of the ball quickly. They pressured him all over the court, which the Knicks expected, especially since Indiana did the same against the Milwaukee Bucks in Round 1. The strategy is an attempt to take down Brunson while also bogging down the Knicks' offense. If it takes New York a few seconds longer to get into his first action, he won't be as likely to score.
However, Brunson's destruction of the Pacers in Game 1 was not despite his team's success.
The Knicks shot 53.7 percent from the field and 11 of 23 from 3. They gave up 121 points in just 98 possessions, an elite figure.
“What's impressive is that it always happens in the context of winning and his teammates, and that's always the most important thing to him,” Thibodeau said. “And I love his mentality because his mentality is that he's not satisfied.”
And now, he appears on lists with Michael Jordan, even if he doesn't recognize the achievement and even if he worries that his friends will use it as pure fuel for mockery.
“He knows what he's doing but he doesn't take care of it. He’s just trying to get better every day,” DiVincenzo said. “Not being him and looking outside, I love it. I sure love it. I will celebrate every day of the week. “That's who he is as a person, not just as a basketball player.”
(Top photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
