Jalen Brunson became the first New York Knicks player since Bernard King in 1984 to open a playoff series with three consecutive 30-point games, leading the Knicks to a 118–116 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Game 3 of their first-round series Thursday night.

Brunson, recently named the 2025 Clutch Player of the Year, finished with 30 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, and a block while shooting 9-for-20 from the field and 11-for-13 from the free-throw line. He previously scored 34 points in Game 1 and 37 in Game 2, which marked Detroit’s first playoff win since 2008.

Through three games, Brunson is averaging 33.7 points, eight assists, and four rebounds while shooting 44.6% from the field and 82.4% from the line on 11.3 attempts per game.

Jalen Brunson leads while  Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby deliver as Knicks survive Pistons rally to take 2-1 series lead

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Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 31 points, and OG Anunoby added 22. New York built a 13-point lead in the first half and held off a second-half surge from the Pistons, who were paced by 24 points each from Cade Cunningham and Tim Hardaway Jr.

The game ended in controversy following a clock malfunction with 0.5 seconds remaining. After Brunson intentionally missed a free throw to prevent a final shot attempt, the clock failed to start when Detroit gained possession. Officials granted the Pistons a replay of the final possession, but they were unable to get a shot off before the buzzer.

The win gave the Knicks a 2–1 series lead, with Game 4 scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET in Detroit. The series will then shift back to Madison Square Garden for Game 5 on Tuesday.

Brunson’s scoring output and late-game execution continue to anchor New York’s postseason efforts, drawing comparisons to King’s iconic playoff run over four decades ago.