Second away match, second victory away from MSG for the New York Knicks (40-27) as they visited the Kings in Sacramento and beat their foes 98-91 on Saturday night.
Some dues on the Sacto hardwood played basketball. Then there was Jalen Brunson.
Scoring 40 points in back-to-back NBA games might not be something that impressive, even less so in today’s age when we have idiots dropping 50 pops left and right every night. In NBA history, there were three Knicks entering the weekend, namely Bernard King, Patrick Ewing and Carmelo Anthony.
But if you had this not-so-sophisticated feeling of success in your brain, then let me tell you that it is time for you to reconsider your thoughts and study the history of the Association in more detail.
Selection or not, building a streak of two or more games scoring over 42 points is something that has only happened 113 times since the 1980 season when the NBA introduced the three-point line.
Truth be told, I was surprised that there have been so few exploit cases in the last 45 years. Name by name, only 40 people were responsible for 112 of these sequences.
The newest and 41st member of this select club is none other than Jalen Brunson, author of 45 points against the Portland Trail Blazers Thursday, then burned the Kings for 42 points on Saturday.
Jalen Brunson, take a bow.
Brunson’s 42 points were more than Sacramento’s top two players scored yesterday. combined– the Knicks limited Domantas Sabonis (who scored no points in the fourth quarter) to 21 and De’Aaron Fox to 20.
The Kings failed score more than 100 points for the first time since February 28 in Denver. They failed to score 92+ for the first time since January 12. They were retained by New York at their lowest regular season score to date.
Just for context, Sacramento is putting up 118 PPG as a team this season. This is the eighth highest average in the league. They make 44.1 baskets per game, but they only found the net 30 times on Saturday. They cut 35/27/81 from the field, threes and the charity stripe.
D stuffy, they call it.
The Knicks starters put their Sacramento comrades in the torture chamber as every man in the lineup stole at least one stone, with Brunson leading the way with four steals.
OG Anunoby blocked three shots while playing during surgical rehabilitation. “I didn’t even know I was doubtful,” he says said after the game.
Isaiah Hartenstein had four field goal attempts in 28 minutes of play, as he continues to increase his playing time while healing his Achilles.
Sharing is caring, and that’s why all but one Manhattanite (Deuce McBride, a point guard) donated at least a penny. Precious Achiuwa led all Knicks with four players playing on the pin.
It was that kind of game. It was that kind of solid win. It was the blue-collar Knicks against a bunch of random dudes, or at least that’s what they made them look like.
Not only did the Knicks win, they did so for the third straight game and second on the road, halfway through their West Coast trip with visits to Golden State and Denver coming up.
Cleveland lost its Saturday game against Houston, but Indiana and Philly won theirs. The Warriors beat the Lakers but it took a lot of effort.
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All of this puts the Knicks in the right position. 4th seed East, just two games behind Cleveland for third in the conference standings and one game above no. 5Orlando Magic. Call it a stretch, but the Bucks are just three games ahead in second place with 15 games remaining.
Next in line: Steph Curry and the Dubs host the Knickerbockers on Monday, March 18. Another late warning, the third in a row at 10 p.m. ET. Don’t miss it (I will.)
