Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau Sends 4-Word Message on Jalen Brunson’s Hot Streak

Getty Tom Thibodeau reacts during Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers on May 6.

Another day, another superstar performance for Jalen Brunson. He scored 40 or more points for a fourth-straight game, and the New York Knicks have a 1-0 lead in the Conference Semifinals.

According to a tweet from SportsCenter, Brunson’s 210 points over his last 5 playoff games are the most since Michael Jordan in 1993.

Jalen Brunson has dropped 210 points in his last five games, the most over a 5-game span in the playoffs since Michael Jordan in 1993 🔥

And it’s out of necessity for the Knicks, not luxury for the All-Star point guard.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau made sure to shut down any idea of Brunson’s play being the byproduct of “empty stats,” postgame.

“They’re not empty stats,” Thibodeau told SNY on May 6. “They’re stats that are impacting winning.”

He went on to detail how Brunson’s pressure on the defense opens things up for New York, even when he’s not scoring.

“If he gets double teamed, he doesn’t fight it, he gets off it,” Thibodeau continued. “If he gets into the paint and they collapse, or they overcommit, it also opens up second shot opportunities for us. We want to take advantage of it that way. We’ve got some great guys at offensive rebounding, making a second and third effort. So we can get shots that way as well. The overall leadership of all those guys, giving everything they have to the team and putting the team first.”

Brunson finished Game 1 with 43 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists in 43 minutes played.

And for the first time this postseason, it didn’t feel like that he was a one-man offense for the New York Knicks.

This story will be updated.