Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns match Kobe, Shaq’s record as the Knicks force Game 6 vs Indiana

The New York Knicks were facing potential elimination on Thursday night, trailing 3–1 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. But Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns delivered a brilliant performance to keep the team alive—while also matching a feat not seen since the iconic pairing of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

Brunson led all scorers in the 111–94 win for the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. He recorded 32 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in 34 minutes on the court, once again proving to be the team’s most reliable and impactful player.

Towns, meanwhile, also made a major impact with 24 points—the same total he posted in each of the previous two games in the series. He added 13 rebounds and 3 assists over 36 minutes of action. Together, the guard and the center averaged 39 points in Game 1, 28 in the next, 23.5 in the third one, 27.5 in Game 4, and 28 points in Thursday night’s victory.

Those numbers made Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns the first teammates to score 20+ points in each of the first five games of a Conference Finals in the last 23 years in the NBA. The last duo to put up similar numbers? Shaq and Kobe in 2002.

That year, the Los Angeles Lakers were defending their league title after winning championships in 2000 and 2001. After eliminating the Portland Trail Blazers and the San Antonio Spurs, they faced the Sacramento Kings in the Western Conference Finals—a tightly contested series that went the full seven games.

In the first five games of that series, the guard and the center took full responsibility for carrying the team. Together, they averaged 28 points in Game 1, 28.5 in Game 2, 21 in Game 3, 26 in Game 4, and 29 in Game 5. And the streak didn’t stop there. With their backs against the wall, needing to win the next two to reach the Finals, Shaq and Kobe kept up the pace, averaging 36 points combined in Game 6 and 32.5 in Game 7.

Phil Jackson’s team would go on to complete their postseason run by sweeping the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals and securing their third straight championship—something no other team has accomplished since.