Jalen Brunson points tonight: Knicks survive battle of attrition vs Philadelphia, move on to 2nd round

All-Star guard Jalen Brunson stepped up big once again with 41 points as the New York Knicks took Game 6 of their batte of attrition with the Philadelphia 76ers, 118-115, on Thursday to advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs.

The Villanova product scored the last two points for the Knicks from the free throw line as they iced the game and staved off another ferocious late rally by the Sixers.

Brunson played 44 minutes and went 13-of-27 from the floor and 3-of-8 from the three to tow New York to the all-important victory. He also had 12 assists.

It marked the second straight year that the Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

In the next round, Brunson and the Knicks will go up against the Indiana Pacers, who also wrapped up their opening-round playoff series with the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.

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Jalen Brunson first to score 200-plus points in 2024 NBA playoffs

Apart from helping the New York Knicks close out the Philadelphia 76ers in their opening-round NBA playoff series, Jalen Brunson’s 41 points in Game 6 on Thursday made him the first player this season to score over 200 points in the 2024 NBA playoffs.

Sitting at 172 points heading into Game 6, the 27-year-old All-Star guard has 213 points in six postseason games. He continued to top the Sixers duo of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, who ended their postseason campaigns with 198 and 179 points in six games, respectively.

In hitting 41 points in Game 6, Jalen Brunson played 44 minutes. He opened the game with 10 points in the opening quarter before finishing the half with a total of 16 points.

In the third frame, Brunson continued to lead the charge for his team on offense, ending with 11 to take his total to 27 points heading into the final canto. Just like what he did all series long, the All-Star guard stepped up big in the fourth quarter just as they were subjected to another spirited stand from the Sixers.

Jalen Brunson tallied 14 points in the payoff quarter, going 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-2 from the 3. His last two points came from the free-throw line with eight seconds left in the game as the Knicks narrowly held a one-point lead, 116-115.

He would confidently sink the charities to extend their cushion, 118-115, from which the Sixers never recovered.

After the opening round, Brunson is averaging 35.5 points. Meanwhile, as for the postseason points ladder, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks is at fourth with 151 points in five games, followed by Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks with 148 points in six games and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets with 141 in five.