Jalen Brunson drops 50 on Suns, goes 9-for-9 from deep to tie NBA record

Free throws were harder than 3-pointers for Jalen Brunson on Friday.

The New York Knicks guard dropped a career-high 50 points on the Phoenix Suns in a 139-122 win on Friday, making some wild stat line history in the process. The All-Star went 19 for 23 from the field, 7 for 9 on free throws and 9 for 9 from deep.

The latter ties an NBA record for the most 3-pointers without a miss in a single game. Only Latrell Sprewell and Ben Gordon (twice) have matched that number.

Brunson also had nine assists, six rebounds and five steals, making him the first player to ever post 50 points, five 3-pointers, five assists, five rebounds and five steals in a single game, per Statmuse.

Pretty good for a player who shot 0 for 6 from 3-point range in his previous game, as part of a loss to the Utah Jazz.

That flurry of numbers came in a wild win for the Knicks, who fell behind by 10 points in the third quarter but roared back with a 33-13 run. Here’s how the Knicks scored their first 17 points after Brunson checked back in during the fourth quarter:

“I was just playing,” Brunson said after the game. “I wasn’t really thinking, I was just trying to focus on my mechanics, seeing how the defense is playing, getting to my spot, stuff like that. … The ball went in tonight.”

Randle naturally made extra sure to get Brunson the game ball, after the lesson learned from this week’s Giannis Antetokounmpo drama.

In his second year with the Knicks, Brunson is now averaging a career-high 25.6 points per game and shooting a career-high 46.0% from deep. The Knicks improved their record to 14-10, good for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.