National Basketball Association

2024 NBA playoffs odds: Jalen Brunson's Over/Under point total near NBA record

Updated May. 8, 2024 4:53 p.m. ET

Jalen Brunson's historic scoring outburst is being reflected in the betting market.

The New York Knicks star point guard's Over/Under point total for Wednesday's Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers is set at 37.5 at most sportsbooks. It's the second straight game that Brunson's point total has been set that high, also holding a 37.5 point total ahead of the Knicks' Game 1 win on Monday.

Of course, there's a good reason why Brunson's total is as high as it is. He joined rarified air with his 43-point performance on Monday, becoming just the fourth player in NBA history to score at least 40 points in four straight playoff games. He's the first player to do it since Michael Jordan in 1993, joining fellow Knicks star Bernard King in the process.

Jerry West's six-game streak of 40-plus points in a playoff game is the only streak longer than Brunson's at this point. Brunson to score at least 40 points is at +105 at DraftKings Sportsbook, an implied probability of roughly 49%.

Prior to his historic scoring outburst, Brunson's point total typically hovered in the high 20s and low 30s. His point total at the start of the Knicks' opening-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers was at 31.5, but dropped to 29.5 in Game 3 after he scored just 46 total points in the first two games.

Brunson's point total began to climb again following his 39-point performance in the Knicks' Game 3 loss to the 76ers in the first round, climbing back up to 31.5 for Game 4. Brunson's 47-point outing in Game 4 against the 76ers led to his point total reaching 33.5 for Game 5.

It remained at that number for Game 6 of that series.

With the streak, Brunson has gone over his point total in each of the last five games. Brunson has scored at least 38 points in 20 games this season and has hit the 40-point mark 15 times this year, including the playoffs.

It's unclear where Brunson's betting point total ranks in NBA history, but it is relatively uncommon to see a point total climb over 35. For instance, Luka Doncic has the next highest listed point total among all players in the upcoming games, holding a 31.5-point total for Game 2 of the Dallas Mavericks-Oklahoma City Thunder series.

Is Jalen Brunson a superstar?

Joel Embiid had a few similarly high point totals earlier in the 2023-24 season. His point total climbed to 36.5 for a game in late January following his 70-point regular-season performance.

In terms of playoff history, LeBron James slightly edges Brunson's point total. He had a 38 point total for Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics when he was still with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only is it believed to be the highest point total of James' career, it was also thought to be the highest point total in NBA history, ESPN reported at the time.

James went on to score 35 points in a Cavaliers win.

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