Point guard Jalen Brunson delivered one of the best offensive performances in New York Knicks history on Friday night, scoring 61 points against the San Antonio Spurs. However, that still wasn’t enough for his team to avoid a 130-126 overtime loss.
Brunson not only set his career high, but his 61 points were also second-most in a single game in franchise history. He ended up coming just one point shy from tying Carmelo Anthony’s record of 62 points.
In order to get to 61, Brunson took 47 shots. This is the most in the NBA since 2016, when late Kobe Bryant attempted 50 shots in his farewell game.
While Brunson’s offensive masterclass got the Knicks close to an important win, they just couldn’t close it out. This is something that Brunson acknowledged after the game, saying that his performance “doesn’t really matter”.
“It’s great, but … that stuff is washed out the window with a loss,” Brunson said. “So it doesn’t really matter.”
By failing against the Spurs, the Knicks have seen their chances of making a run for the second seed in the East being diminished. They are sitting at No. 4 with a 44-29 record and are two games behind the second-placed Milwaukee Bucks. Also, they are in danger of losing the home-court advantage, being just 1.5 games ahead of fifth-placed Orlando Magic.
