Jalen Brunson scores 42 points to lead Knicks to gutsy victory over Kings | Top Vip News

NBA

By Stefan Bondy

SACRAMENTO, California – Jalen Brunson should have played with latex gloves and a surgical mask with the way he dissected the Kings.

The guard tore apart the Kings with precision, dropping 42 points as the Knicks won Saturday night, 98-91, riding his All-Star and trademark physical defense in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

Brunson was the engine, steering wheel and tires. He made 17 of 28 field goals in 36 minutes, including the biggest shot of the night: a floater off a quick dribble that gave the visitors a 96-91 lead with 37 seconds left.

Sacramento’s Leon Ellis, who was the primary defender on that play, took a quick look at an incoming screen and that split second was all Brunson needed to get to the basket and launch the dagger for the Knicks (40-27). .

He became the first Knick since Carmelo Anthony in 2014 to record consecutive games with 40-plus touchdowns, and just the fourth player in franchise history with Bernard King and Patrick Ewing the other two on the list.

“That’s elite company,” Josh Hart said.

The performance followed a 45-point game by Brunson two nights earlier in Portland, when teammate Donte DiVincenzo declared, “He’s an All-Star point guard, that’s what they do.”

Except Brunson has been more than an All-Star this season. He is on pace to become the first Knick guard named to the All-NBA since Clyde Frazier in 1975, almost 50 years ago.

Brunson is also inching his way up the list of the best players at his position in the entire league. If there is an adjustment to eliminate hybrid ball-handling bigs from the conversation, specifically Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic, then Brunson could be a top-3 point guard.

It depends on where you would be ranked between Steph Curry, Dame Lillard, Tyrese Haliburton, Jamal Murray, Trae Young and De’Aaron Fox.

On Saturday, Brunson outplayed one of the players on that list, Fox, who scored an inefficient 20 points on 5-of-19 shooting.

Brunson, meanwhile, served the Kings with on-demand scoring, a variety of 3-pointers, floaters, pivots and drives.

He found angles that shouldn’t exist, like with 5:46 left when he hit an and-1 layup from under two swinging-arm defenders.

It was all the more impressive considering Brunson drove the ball consistently but only made four free throws.

“To drive the ball as many times as he does, the physicality, they catch him, they chase him, they hit him, and he only made four free throws,” Thibodeau said. “But that’s what I love about him. He has a tough mentality, he can figure it out and he knows what the game is called. He knows that he is on the road, that it will be difficult and that does not stop him. He does not let the officials impact in any way.”

With DiVincenzo still failing, OG Anunoby out on Saturday and Julius Randle in street clothes, Thibodeau once again leaned on his base.

Brunson finished with 43 percent of his team’s points, two nights after finishing with (you guessed it) 43 percent of his team’s points in Portland.

The Kings, like the Knicks, are finding success after decades of rot.

They are not considered contenders yet, but the combination of Fox and Domantas Sabonis has elevated them into playoff contention.

They’re also young and fast, with Fox among the fastest in the NBA, something the Knicks combated with power.

“For a defenseman like me, I like to be physical,” Hart said, “so I enjoy it.”

Sabonis was still a problem.

The skilled big man, who leads the league in triple-doubles, pounded the paint and dropped 21 points with 14 rebounds.

But the Kings couldn’t stop the surgically precise Brunson.

“You almost expect what Jalen did,” Thibodeau said. “It’s every night and it’s one great play after another.”