Touched in the hip against the 76ers during “Christmas Day”, Jalen Brunson had missed the following three meetings, all played in Texas, on the occasion of a mini “road-trip” to end the year 2022 (defeats against the Mavericks and the Spurs, then victory against the Rockets).
After testing the mobility of his hip during the warm-up, the Knicks point guard made his comeback last night, on the occasion of the Knicks’ crushing victory at Madison Square Garden, against the Suns who no longer shine much. lately (6 losses in the last 7 games).
A brutal “blowout” to start the new year off right (up to +32… in the second quarter), during which he played very well (24 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists), the Knicks thus regaining their conductor and all the stability he brings to the head of the attack, after a painful end to the year (five defeats in a row before the success against the Rockets, and physical glitches for Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett) .
” He’s a very, very good player. He plays at an All-Star level almost every night ” observed a helpless Monty Williams, on the opposing bench.
When Jalen goes, everything goes
But of course the happiest were his teammates, for whom the return of the former Villanova player to their side was a great relief, after a trip to Texas that was painful except for the move to Houston. Particularly for Julius Randle, once again very good last night (28 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists), in the continuity of his huge end to the year 2022, to the point of being showered in the third quarter of songs “MVP” which formalized his reconciliation with the public of “MSG”.
” He’s one of the best teammates I’ve had. » advanced the MIP 2021, who credited his teammate’s consistent volume of play with explaining his revival this season, after a disappointing 2021/22 fiscal year. ” He takes so much pressure off my shoulders. I can’t explain how good our relationship is, and how much positive energy he brings to the locker room. »
But probably no one was more satisfied than Tom Thibodeau, who did not hesitate to play his leader for almost 40 minutes for his return, when the gap was +23 at the break, and never fell below 15 points in the second half.
” Jalen is a creator. And by that I mean he creates game in any form, as needed. concluded the Knicks coach. ” He organizes our team, and then knows how to turn certain situations to his advantage. He is an absolute master in the art of creating advantageous situations. »
| Jalen Brunson | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2018-19 | DAL | 73 | 22 | 46.7 | 34.8 | 72.5 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 9.3 |
| 2019-20 | DAL | 57 | 18 | 46.6 | 35.8 | 81.3 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 8.2 |
| 2020-21 | DAL | 68 | 25 | 52.3 | 40.5 | 79.5 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 12.6 |
| 2021-22 | DAL | 79 | 32 | 50.2 | 37.3 | 84.0 | 0.5 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 16.3 |
| 2022-23 | NYK | 34 | 33 | 46.0 | 36.6 | 87.0 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 6.6 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 20.2 |
| Total | 311 | 26 | 48.8 | 37.2 | 81.6 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 12.8 | |
