Jalen Brunson reached new heights with a 47-point revelation that has the Knicks on the cusp of a second-straight second-round appearance

In a performance that should never be forgotten, Jalen Brunson transcended it all, doing what he does best in a way we haven’t yet seen. One defender, two defenders, three defenders, four – it didn’t matter. As if in a Looney Tunes cartoon, the 76ers’ single-minded focus on stopping Brunson broke down at critical mass, as he scored 47 points on 18-of-34 shooting to lift New York to a 97-92 win in Game 4 and one win from advancing to the second round. 

Brunson broke Bernard King’s record for most points scored by a Knick in a playoff game. We’re dangerously close to living in a world where you can’t tell the story of the blue and orange without mentioning the 6-foot-2 second-round point guard out of Villanova. Or maybe we’re already there. Game 4 represents a new tier of success: the undeniable. 

That’s what championships are based on. That’s what franchises build around. That’s what ushers in eras of old and futures anew. That’s what Jalen Brunson is. Four quarters makes a dollar. No matter which way you mix them up. Thankfully, the same can be said for basketball. 

Because things got off to a rough start for the Knicks, scoring just 17 points in the first quarter via good process and poor execution, missing eight of nine 3-point attempts. They picked things up in the second quarter, scoring 30 and cutting a 10-point deficit to two. Brunson and OG Anunoby had their hands all over the frame, one dominating each side of the ball. Good process, and good execution. The third quarter was the turning point. 

Nick Nurse and Tom Thibodeau are smart enough as coaches. Adjustments were inevitable. Whatever the Sixers’ were, Brunson was neither consulted nor interested, scoring 15 in the third to keep the Knicks up one entering the final 12 minutes. Less process, more execution.

Credit to the 76ers, who fought hard in the fourth. At times it borderlined foul play, sure, but for once the Knicks received and responded to the opposing physicality: Anunoby and Brunson delivered on both ends, with some Precious Achiuwa sprinkled in, as the Knicks held the Sixers to 16 points in the fourth to close out the win and take a 3-1 series lead. 

Notes

• Business is booming for Achiuwa stockholders everywhere. Fans of the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors are rich with vibes watching their favorite team’s former investment flourish on the NBA’s second-biggest stage. Once considered a throw-in to make the Anunoby trade work, Achiuwa has displayed a versatility on the defensive end that Thibodeau can’t help but work with, like a child with Play-Doh. Achiuwa finished a game-high +11 despite only scoring one point. What else need be said? Mitchell Robinson or no Mitchell Robinson in Game 5, Achiuwa needs to play. He’s earned that much. 

• Speaking of the Knicks’ sudden lack of depth at the center spot, Isaiah Hartenstein came home on an empty stomach with no lunch money in Game 4. He tallied five fouls – all on Joel Embiid, all in the third – nabbing him a front-row seat for the Achiuwa Show in the fourth. His adjustment going into Game 5 should be a top-3 point of focus for the coaching staff. The Knicks have been outscored by 27.6 points in 139 possessions with Hartenstein on the floor this postseason; he’s a -40 through four games. 

• Miles McBride’s playoff contributions don’t always translate to the box score. But trust that Deuce is still every bit the player we saw in the regular season, albeit operating with a much smaller margin of error while respecting its proximity. McBride finished with 13 points and 4 rebounds in 26 minutes, some of which came without Brunson on the floor to start the fourth quarter. We’re not looking for Deuce anymore. He’s here, playing within a role. His role. 

• Philadelphia made six shots in the fourth on 28% shooting. Whoever heads the nickname department needs to get to work on the McBride-OG-Achiuwa-Josh Hart foursome that played the entire quarter. That D was lockdown, baby.

• Anunoby is the blockbuster trade that lacks blockbuster flare. At least most days he is. Game 4 was not one of those days. 16 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks while leading the team in minutes. He flashed shot creation and even emotion we hadn’t yet seen from him. The Knicks improved to 23-4 when he plays.

• He also wins best postgame quote. Never change, OG. 

• Donte DiVincenzo’s had a bad series, shooting just 8-of-23 from deep. And that’s okay. Postseason play ebbs and flows just like the regular season, despite the small window and upped intensity. I trust that it’s a matter of time – minutes, probably – before the threes resume their normal frequency. (Ed. note: DDV hit a pair of 3s late in the third, the Knicks’ first 3s of the quarter, to pull them within one)

• Tyrese Maxey is good at basketball. Nicolas Batum is good at regular-season and Play-in Tournament basketball. Embiid is the best free-throw player of all time. 

• Okay. Brunson. I’m not sure I have the words to pay proper witness to his Game 4 performance, so I’ll let the numbers talk – 47 points on 60% true shooting, 10 assists to one turnover in 43 minutes. In other words: he’s the motherfucking man we warned you about.

• Brunson became only the 14th player ever and the first Knick with 45+ points and 10+ assists in a playoff game. Jerry West, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Sleepy Floyd are some of his associates in this tier I’ve yet to nickname. He’s the first I’ve seen live. He’s first in my heart. He’s 1A, not that it ever mattered.

• Brunson after scoring 46 points total on 29% shooting in Games 1 and 2: “The easy answer is I need to adjust and . . . be more poised, understand what they’re doing and flat-out be better.” Brunson in Games 3 and 4: 86 points on 51% shooting. Promises made, promises kept.

Embiid’s 50-point performance in Game 3 doesn’t hold the same weight as Brunson’s 47 in Game 4 because superstars show up on the road. Game 5 holds blockbuster promise. Knicks fans know what it’s like to lose. Between the 2013 and 2021 postseasons, we watched them lose more than twice as many games as they won. Anyone under the age of 50 wasn’t alive for the team’s two championships. Most over the age of 40 don’t understand how Brunson is doing things Carmelo Anthony never could. We’ve desperately felt right, in a number of spaces.

Kevin Knox was the franchise. David Fizdale was the player’s coach. Frank Ntilikina had (still has) upper-echelon potential. Dennis Smith Jr. was the point guard who was going to reset the position for the franchise. New York failed time and time again, each reset more daunting than the last. But Knicks fans never ran. We embraced wearing the jerseys of players who are no longer in the NBA. Our passion never wavered. Every night represented another opportunity for the team to finally get it right. They have. 

Brunson is the franchise. Tom Thibodeau is a player’s coach. Frank Ntilikina has upper-echelon potential, wherever he is. The point guard position is in its safest hands since Walt Clyde Frazier. And the playoffs are a time to be alive, not scouting pipe-dream trade targets or praying for ping-pong balls.

One of my favorite sayings in recovery translates to any journey of the human experience: “If you’re not happy with where you’re at, you’ll never be happy with where you want to go.” Be happy, Knicks fans. Because of Jalen Brunson, this franchise will never be the same.