San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Brunson on target in 50-point night
PHOENIX — Jalen Brunson’s eighth 3-point attempt of the night initially looked a little off the mark, hitting the side of the rim before bouncing around a couple times and finally dropping through.
The sixth-year guard was so hot from the field that a shooter’s roll almost seemed unfair. He got it anyway.
Brunson scored a career-high 50 points while hitting all nine of his 3-point attempts, Julius Randle added 23 and the New York Knicks beat the Phoenix Suns 139-122 on Friday night.
It was a brilliant shooting display from Brunson, who made 17 of 23 shots, including 12 of 12 in the second half. His final 3 got him to 50 points for the night. He also had five steals.
“I had no idea,” Brunson said about his perfection from long range. “I was just playing free.”
Brunson is the first Knicks player in franchise history to score 50 points while making nine 3s.
Phoenix — which lost star guard Bradley Beal to an ankle injury in the first quarter — has dropped six of its last eight. New York has won two of three.
“They made shots and just got hot and aggressive,” Suns star Kevin Durant said. “They killed us in the pick and roll and that was the game.”
The Suns led by 10 midway through the third quarter but settled for a 99-97 lead heading to the fourth. Brunson kept the Knicks close with 19 points in the quarter on 7-for-7 shooting, including
five 3-pointers.
“The way he shot the ball was special,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Pistons’ losing streak hits 22
Joel Embiid scored 35 points and Tyrese Maxey added 19 as the Philadelphia 76ers dealt the visiting Detroit Pistons their franchise-record 22nd straight loss 124-92 on Friday night in the second game of a home-andhome series.
The Pistons, who lost to Philly 129-111 on Wednesday night in Detroit, eclipsed the franchise mark set at the end of the 1979-80 season and start of 1980-81. The Detroit streak is the sixth-longest single-season skid in NBA history.
Only the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and the
2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers (both lost 26 straight), along with the 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies, the 1997-98 Denver Nuggets and the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats (all lost 23 in a row) have lost more games in a row in a season. Philadelphia holds the overall mark of 28, set at the end of 2014-15 and start of 2015-16.
Brooks, Rockets rally on the road
Dillon Brooks scored 24 of his 26 points in the second half as the visiting Houston Rockets overcame an early double-digit deficit and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 103-96.
Brooks, who was making his return to Memphis after being traded to Houston in the offseason after six seasons with the Grizzlies, was 1 of 9 in the first half. He keyed a second-half
comeback and hit a 3-pointer with 39.4 seconds left for a 99-94 lead as the Rockets won their fifth straight. He also stole an inbounds pass later, sealing the Houston win.
Fred VanVleet had 16 points and eight assists for Houston, and Alperen Sengun finished with 15 points.
Desmond Bane led Memphis with 28 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 22 points and four blocks as Memphis dropped to 1-10 at home.
Friday highlights
Jayson Tatum scored 30 points, Payton Pritchard added 21 off the bench and the Celtics beat the Magic 128-111 to remain unbeaten in Boston this season . ... Trae Young had 38 points and 11 assists, Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 20 points and the Atlanta Hawks snapped a seasonworst five-game losing streak with a 125-104 win over the Raptors in Toronto . ... Kyle Kuzma scored 31 points, Jordan Poole added 30 and Tyus Jones had his second career triple-double as the Wizards beat the Indiana Pacers 127-123 in Washingon to snap a six-game losing streak . ... Jonas Valanciunas had a seasonhigh 29 points and 13 rebounds to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 112-107 win over the host Hornets.