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Jalen Brunson Makes NBA Playoff History in Knicks-Celtics Game 1

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Nathaniel Holloway | Last updated May 5, 2025 10:55 PM ET

The New York Knicks were on the road on Monday night as they kicked off their second-round series against the Boston Celtics.

New York had a great start to the game as they trailed Boston by only one point at the end of the first quarter. That changed in the second quarter, though, as the Celtics outscored the Knicks by 15 points and took a 16-point lead into halftime.

Eventually, the Knicks would fall down 20 points, looking like they were once again heading towards a blowout loss to the Celtics like most of their matchups were in the regular season.

Instead, New York was able to make a massive second-half comeback to force overtime, where they would grab the 108-105 victory, stealing a victory on the road.

Jalen Brunson led the way for the Knicks with 29 points, four rebounds and five assists while OG Anunoby scored 29 points of his own.

Mikal Bridges also came up clutch in overtime with some clutch shots and defensive plays, including the game-sealing steal on Jaylen Brown to end the game.

This was an incredible comeback for the Knicks and another dominant clutch-time performance from Brunson.

With Brunson’s dominant fourth quarter in Game 1, he made NBA playoff history as he became just the third player since 1997-98 to score 75 or more points in the fourth quarter through their first seven games of a postseason run.

There's only been 3 players to score 75+ 4th-quarter points through their first 7 games of a postseason run in the play-by-play era (1997-98).

Jalen Brunson, 2025
Steph Curry, 2023
Kobe Bryant, 2008 https://t.co/dVUsqpJ72z pic.twitter.com/MTAEEzfxXs
— NBA (@NBA) May 6, 2025

Brunson joins Stephen Curry, who did so in 2023, and Kobe Bryant, who accomplished it in 2008.

This is an incredible feat for Brunson and one that shows just how clutch the NBA Clutch Player of the Year is.

Of course, 11 of Brunson’s 29 points came in the fourth quarter during Monday’s Game 1 victory in Boston, which has been a repeated theme for the star point guard this season.

Brunson and the Knicks will now look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead in Game 2 on Wednesday before they head back to New York for Game 3 and 4.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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