Getty
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks during an NBA game.
The New York Knicks are in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year, and Jalen Brunson is making history while getting them there. While their playoff run was on, he quietly touched an elite milestone that very few have achieved.
The Knicks took Game 1 over the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-104 in overtime, erasing a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit. Brunson finished with 38 points, scored 15 of those in that final stretch, and played 46 minutes. That comeback simply does not happen without him.
GettyJalen Brunson
The New York Knicks’ official X account posted after Game 1 with a comic book-style illustration of their star and a caption that read: “It’s over 2,000!!! Last night Jalen Brunson became the second-fastest point guard to reach 2,000 career playoff points in NBA history.”
That is the milestone. Second-fastest point guard ever to get there. When you look at his 2026 numbers, it is hard to argue it is not fully deserved.
In this postseason, his scoring average is 28.3 points per game. He was very effective in the game versus the Hawks as he made 37.8% of his three-pointers. Also, when the team faced the 76ers, he was the key player who led the Knicks to a 4-0 series victory.
What makes this run even more impressive is how consistent he has been across multiple postseasons. Ever since joining the Knicks in 2022, Brunson has elevated his game every single playoff. The bigger the moment, the more points he scores.
For a 6-foot-2 guard who is not the fastest or most explosive player on the floor, the way he scores in high-pressure moments genuinely does not make sense. He finds angles nobody else finds and hits shots nobody else hits, over and over again on the biggest stage.
Getty Jalen Brunson
Cleveland will not let Game 1 happen again. Donovan Mitchell finished with 29 points but watched the Cavaliers blow a 22-point lead, and he made that clear after the game. The Cavs are battle-tested after surviving two straight seven-game series, including a Game 7 blowout of the Detroit Pistons.
James Harden was really off-target in Game 1, making only 1 of his 8 three-point attempts and throwing away the ball six times. Cleveland can in no way allow a similar down game from Harden. If Harden recovers and Mitchell stays aggressive, the Cavaliers have enough firepower to make this a real series.
New York has home-court advantage and the Knicks are 9-2 in the playoffs heading into this game. Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges and the rest of the team have given Brunson enough support so that he does not have to do everything himself.
The series is just getting started, but Brunson already has the history and the momentum on his side. Game 2 tips off soon, and the Cavaliers know better than anyone that leaving Madison Square Garden down 2-0 would be a very difficult hole to climb out of.
Jayesh Pagar Jayesh Pagar is a writer at Heavy Sports, covering the New York Knicks and other NBA teams. He brings four years of experience across digital sports media, including NBA, WNBA, college basketball, and college football. He covered as the Knicks beat writer for ONSI and has written for PFSN, Sporting News, and ClutchPoints. More about Jayesh Pagar
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