With Jalen Brunson grabbing the Knicks’ 40-year-old playoff scoring crown Sunday in Philadelphia, Bernard King’s former coach fondly embraced the opportunity to talk about the longtime record holder.
Brunson’s 47-point eruption in Game 4 against the 76ers brought longtime coach and TV analyst Hubie Brown back to King netting 46 in back-to-back postseason games for the Knicks against the Pistons in the first round of the 1984 playoffs.
The 90-year-old Brown, who still calls games for ABC and ESPN, noted the difference in eras between the physical 1980s and the 3-point dependent current NBA game, but he also sees distinct similarities between the two players in their mindset and ability to play through injuries.
“I’ve had the Knicks four times this year, and the first time was Christmas, when they beat Milwaukee, and Brunson was spectacular,” Brown told The Post’s Stefan Bondy in a telephone interview. “When you think of Bernard, Brunson has the advantage of the 3-point shot, but even at his size, once he breaks that 3-point line, he’s a lot like Bernard. He can create when you defend him, even in a trap. They both have the IQ and the physical quickness, and that’s through hours and hours of practice. The spin moves, to come out of the move and split the defense, and then shoot a high percentage at the top of the circle and in the midrange game, [Brunson] has that.
“And then on top of that, just like Bernard, the physical pounding of doing that every play from frontline people. That is underrated in Brunson’s case, because he’s on the floor so much. He doesn’t get enough credit for taking physical punishment. And yet, he doesn’t hesitate. He’s going down there to make something happen.”
The Knicks have had nine individual games of at least 43 points in their postseason history, and King accounted for five of them — all during the 1984 playoffs.
Three of those came against Detroit, when he averaged 42.9 points in a 3-2 first-round edging of Isiah Thomas and the Pistons.
King netted 46 in 39 minutes in a Game 2 loss at the Pontiac Silverdome on April 19 and another 46 in 40 minutes in the Knicks’ Game 3 victory three nights later at the Garden.
He registered two more games of at least 43 points in a seven-game loss in the next round against Larry Bird and the Celtics, the eventual NBA champions.
As Brown noted, King also played that playoff series against Detroit with a splint over his left hand, limiting the small forward’s ability to dribble to his left.
“I think the first thing you have to look at is, ‘How could he do this?’” Brown said. “When they talk about the greatest post-up players in the history of the game, he’ll always be mentioned. … But the splint just magnifies it to a whole different level.”
King, a Brooklyn native who now lives in Atlanta, led the NBA in scoring in 1984-85 with 32.9 points per game before suffering a serious knee injury and missing the entire next season.
He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2013, eight years after Brown was inducted.
“When you go back to days of hand-checking, which Bernard had to put up with, and the hard fouls, don’t ever compare guys from that era to this era,” Brown said. “Hand-checking and a hard foul were part of the game. No technical fouls and the guy is still in the game and no one got fines, so they could do that all night long and lay you out as long as guys stayed within the six fouls.
“But I’m so glad to see [Brunson] doing this. It’s wonderful, because anybody who says they saw this coming from this young guy, on his move from Dallas to here, you gotta walk away from the conversation. … Just look at his opportunities [with the Mavericks] and now he comes here and all of a sudden you’re looking at a new player. It’s a beautiful story, and he’s a wonderful kid and he handles it all extremely well, just like Bernard did.”
Brunson also had a 61-point game on March 29, one off the team mark set by Carmelo Anthony in 2014. Anthony had eclipsed King’s 60-point performance on Christmas Day, 1984, against the Nets.
Brown took notice, too, of Brunson’s 38 points against the Bucks on Christmas this season.
“That was a big coming-out party for him on national TV and across the world,” Brown said. “Don’t ever underestimate the mental and physical toughness of a kid at 6-2 doing this. Never mind his fanatical dedication to becoming a better player with his workouts. Everything about him is what you dream about a player being. … He’s the total package, and it’s great to watch.”
