Jalen Brunson Explodes for Career-High, Lifts Knicks in Game 7 Thriller—Watch the Must-See Highlights

H2: Jalen Brunson’s Playoff Heroics Power Knicks’ 2025 Run Few players have dominated the spring spotlight like Jalen Brunson. Fresh off a 39-point, 12-assist masterpiece that buried the defending-champion Celtics in Game 4 of the East semifinals, the New York Knicks’ leader followed with 29 points, five assists and five triples in Game 5 to close out the series. Brunson’s back-to-back explosions pushed New York into its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2024, cementing his status as one of the NBA’s premier postseason shot-makers. H2: Early Hole vs. Indiana Doesn’t Diminish Brunson’s Star Turn The conference-final stage has offered no respite. Despite Brunson’s 32-point effort in Game 1, the Knicks fell 138-135 in an overtime thriller. Game 2 brought more frustration—17 New York turnovers turned into 25 Pacers points, a detail Brunson acknowledged the team “has to clean up” before Game 3 at Madison Square Garden. Yet even in defeat, the lefty guard’s relentless rim attacks and clutch shooting have kept New York within striking distance, fueling optimism for a comeback. H2: Contract Value Looks Like Steal of the Decade Brunson inked a four-year, $156 million extension last July, well below the five-year, $270 million max he could have commanded on the open market. With the 27-year-old now averaging 31.4 points and 7.8 assists this postseason, that deal is aging like fine wine. League insiders already label it a “championship window contract” that gives New York flexibility to add another All-Star–caliber piece around Brunson, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns. H2: How Brunson Is Torch-ing Defensive Coverages • Pick-and-Roll Mastery: Ranking in the 96th percentile as a scorer out of high ball screens, Brunson’s stop-and-go cadence freezes bigs on switches. • Mid-Range Surgeon: His 49 percent clip on pull-up twos forces defenders to chase over screens, opening the lob game with Towns. • Fourth-Quarter Flair: He leads all playoff performers with 11.3 clutch points per contest, per league tracking data. H2: Keys for Game 3 and Beyond 1. Trim the Turnovers – New York coughed up 18 & 17 giveaways in the first two games of the series, gifting Indiana momentum. 2. Hunt Mismatches Earlier – Expect head coach Tom Thibodeau to station Brunson on the low block against smaller guards like Andrew Nembhard, where his post footwork shines. 3. Three-Point Volume – The Knicks are 7-1 this postseason when they hit 14+ threes; Brunson’s paint touches must create more kick-outs for Mikal Bridges and Quentin Grimes. H2: Legacy Watch Should Brunson drag the Knicks back from a 0-2 deficit, he’ll join Patrick Ewing (1994) as the only players in franchise history to reach the NBA Finals while averaging 30+ postseason points. He’s also tracking for First-Team All-NBA honors and a possible place on Team USA’s Paris roster later this summer, underscoring how quickly the former second-round pick has climbed the league’s superstar ladder. H2: Bottom Line Search interest in “Jalen Brunson highlights,” “Knicks vs Pacers Game 3 time,” and “Brunson playoff stats” has skyrocketed—and for good reason. From breakout scorer to bona fide MVP candidate, Brunson’s meteoric rise is redefining the Knicks’ ceiling and electrifying basketball’s biggest stage. All eyes now shift to Madison Square Garden, where the New York faithful will look to their new franchise cornerstone to author another chapter in his rapidly expanding playoff legend.