With Coi Leray pretty in pink courtside, Jalen Brunson balled out against the Wizards, dropping a 41/8/8 stat line in the 113-108 win. It was Brunson's fourth 40-point game of the season and his first since dropping a career-high 50 points against the Suns in December. However, fans were quick to joke that it was Leray's presence that spurred Brunson's big performance. Prior to the game against Washington, Brunson was averaging 25.9 points per game through the first seven games of January. Perhaps it was the presence of Leray that, as one X user put it, turned Brunson into "2001 Allen Iverson". However, on the other hand, he was playing against the Wizards.
Despite the big performance, Brunson did not receive much help from his teammates. Julius Randle was the only other Knick to break 20 points while the bench combined for just seven points. Jordan Poole led the Wizards with 24 points. Meanwhile, Leray's close friend Kyle Kuzma had 15. With the win, the Knicks moved to 25-17 on the season and currently occupy fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Joel Embiid MVP Repeat In Danger Due To NBA Rest Rule
Meanwhile, there are concerns about how the new NBA rest rule could affect the MVP race. Joel Embiid can miss no more than seven of the Sixers' remaining 43 games in order to be eligible for MVP this season. Due to a spate of injuries, Embiid has played 29 of the Sixers' 39 games this season. However, due to load management rules implemented in the offseason, Embiid needs to play in 65 games to be eligible for all major awards. This means that Embiid must play in at least 36 of the team's remaining games to be eligible for the award he is currently the frontrunner for.
"The goal is to be ready for the playoffs. If I can't meet the criteria of 65 games … as long as I'm ready to be dominant in that time in April, that's all I care about," Embii told reporters following the Sixers win over Houston on January 15. The 65-game rule was implemented as the NBA looked to curb the amount of big-game talent missing games due to "load management". As part of continued efforts to tackle load management, the league recently released a report indicating that the practice did not actually lower the likelihood of long-term injuries.
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