Jalen Brunson's Big Day Lifts New York Knicks Over San Antonio Spurs

New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson had the game of his life Tuesday night. Brunson scored a career-high 38 points on 27 field goal attempts to propel his team to a thrilling 117-114 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

JB put on a show at @TheGarden 🍿

Career-High 38 PTS 🪣 pic.twitter.com/9eKg2mW1uu
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 5, 2023

Brunson hit 17 of his shots while contributing seven rebounds and six assists. Nothing came easy: he hit only three of his seven free throws. It was exactly the sort of game the Knicks dreamed about when they acquired Brunson in the offseason.

Brunson has delivered in an expanded role since leaving the Dallas Mavericks. He's scoring a personal best 20.8 points per game on a career-high 16.8 field goal attempts per game. His .516 effective field goal percentage is down a little bit from the .548 mark he averaged over his first four years, but he has still exceeded all reasonable expectations in 36 appearances this season.

At 21-18, the Knicks currently sit sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. They'll have a great chance to at least make the play-in tournament this year.