As the first team in the playoffs this season to appear to be "under the gram", the pressure of the Dallas Lone Rangers can be imagined. This year was originally a year of high hopes, with talented people coming out, and with the old teams such as los Angeles's doubles, Spurs, and Rockets withdrawing from the playoff stage, it is a good time for Doncic and his teammates to make a career. However, unexpected injuries made the Lone Ranger's situation suddenly precarious. Losing G1 doesn't mean there's no hope, but the bad thing is that the G2 situation is still not getting better, and it has been confirmed before the game that Doncic will continue to watch from the sidelines, facing the Jazz led by All-Star Mitchell and Gobert, how should the Lone Ranger guard the home American Airlines Center? A second-round show gave us the answer, and he was Jaylen Brunson.
25-year-old Jaylen Brunson, only 1.85 meters tall and only 1.95 meters arm span, is a bit too ordinary in the NBA, which is full of long people and strongmen everywhere, and it is no wonder that he was selected with the 33rd pick in the second round of the 2018 draft. At that time, all the attention of the Lone Ranger was on doncic, the proud son of the heavens and the unicorn of Eastern Europe, and I am afraid that even the management did not think that in the years of going around, the second boss who had found the most reliable for Dongzi so far was already in the lineup. Because the idol was Steve Nash, Brunson chose the idol's Number 13 as his jersey number and began his unusual NBA career.
As a commando with outstanding personal offensive ability, Brunson has become more and more excellent step by step in the past four years since he entered the league, and when Doncic has grown into a strong person at the level of MVP candidate, Brunson is already a first-class player who can deliver 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the regular season, as an outside player, Brunson's shooting rate is as high as 50.2%, which is even more valuable. But even so, the outside world's evaluation of him is still "good at charging", a good "general", not a "handsome talent", which is why when he learned that Doncic's calf strain did not have the opportunity to play, the outside world unanimously determined that both Brunson and Dinwiddie were embarrassed.
But when the 110-104 score was really presented to everyone, we reacted that the NBA was originally the birthplace of miracles, no one knew what would happen until the last moment, of course, the opportunity was always left to those who were prepared, and Brunson was obviously ready. On 15-of-25 shooting, he scored 41 points on a 75 percent shooting streak, including six priceless three-pointers, plus eight rebounds and five assists. The gritty Brunson used such a scoring show to become the fifth player in Lone Ranger history to score 40+ in the playoffs, and wrote his name alongside the names of Blackman, Nowitzki, Doncic and Van Exel.
The 41-point score is also a tribute to the greatest star in the history of the Lone Rangers, Dirk Nowitzki - Notianwang's No. 41 jersey was hung high above the American Airlines Center as early as January 6 this year, officially retired, and accepted the admiration of fans, and Brunson's 41 points, which turned the tide and supported the building, were given a different color. After the game, Doncic also sent a big hug to Brunson for the first time, this victory not only stabilized the situation, but also bought time for Doncic's injury recovery, this small victory may have an impact on the entire series, and even the pattern of the West, the mood of which only Doncic, Brunson and other parties can understand.
In a post-match interview, when asked how he would rate his performance, Brunson appeared unusually humble, affectionately stating to his teammates: "The ball just happened to pass to me. I simply couldn't get that many points without the help of my teammates. We played the right basketball and we still have a long way to go, and we have to keep focusing. "Maybe the Jazz missed out on the best chance to beat the Lone Rangers, and they never imagined they would lose to a base-paid player who earns just $1.8 million a year. So, who can have the last laugh in this series? Who are you more optimistic about?