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Jalen Brunson is undoubtedly etching his name into the New York Knicks’ lore as one of the franchise’s most beloved players of all time.

Admittedly, the bar isn’t especially high, yet that does not diminish what he has done for New York. The Knicks haven’t reached the NBA Finals since 1999 and haven’t hoisted the championship trophy since 1973—back when the three-point line was still six years away from NBA adoption. Memorable moments have been scarce, but this year’s team, led by Brunson, has brought life, energy, and belief back to Madison Square Garden.

New York is enjoying its best season of the millennium, though the Indiana Pacers have pushed them to the limit in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers entered Game 5 with a commanding 3-1 lead and an opportunity to clinch a trip to the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Having already won twice at the Garden in this series, Indiana looked poised to end the Knicks’ season.

Brunson had other ideas.

The Knicks’ team captain came out firing, scoring New York’s first six points to give them an early 6-0 lead that they would never relinquish. Behind Brunson’s efforts, the Knicks pulled away before halftime and never looked back, cruising to a 111-94 win that extended their postseason.

The two-time NBA All-Star Brunson led New York with 32 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the win. It was quite a significant night for him aside from picking up the win as he became just the 10th guard in NBA history to score 30 or more points 10 times in a single postseason and also entered the top 100 of the all-time playoff scoring list. 

He and Karl-Anthony Towns, who added 24 points and 13 rebounds, became the first duo to score at least 20 points each in the first five games of a Conference Finals since Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in 2002.

The series now shifts back to Indiana for Game 6, where the Pacers will have another opportunity to close out the Knicks. For New York to force a Game 7, Brunson will once again have to set the tone early—and if his postseason form is any indication, there’s every reason to believe that he will.

Performances like this have endeared him to the Knicks’ famously passionate fanbase. Regardless of how this run ends, Brunson has already cemented his place among the franchise’s legends. But the job is far from finished and if he can carry New York back to the NBA Finals and somehow win it all, they might just name the arena after him when it is all said and done.

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