Julius Randle trolls Giannis and Bucks, makes sure to secure game ball for teammate Jalen Brunson

Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 50 points in New York’s 139-122 victory over Phoenix on Friday night and became the first player in NBA history to score 50 points while shooting 100% on at least eight 3-point attempts.

Brunson also tied an NBA record for the most 3-pointers in a game without a miss. A mark only Latrell Sprewell and Ben Gordon (who did it twice) have equaled.

Brunson, who shot 12-for-12 in the second half with 35 points, also became the first player with at least 50 points, five assists and five steals in Knicks’ history.

The milestones were so significant that teammate Julius Randle made sure to secure the game ball for Brunson after what happened in Indiana earlier this week.

After Knicks guard Ryan Arcidiacono dribbled out the clock on the game’s final possession, Randle ran over to Arcidiacono and tied him up before Randle stole the ball and hoisted it over his head. Randle later ran over to Brunson and presented him with the ball. After receiving the ball, Brunson later bounced the ball over to a Knicks’ employee for safe keeping.

Julius Randle had to make sure Jalen Brunson got the game ball after dropping 50 🤣 pic.twitter.com/bbeTB5ciHF

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 16, 2023

After the game, Brunson was asked about Randle grabbing the game ball and replied, “No comment,” while laughing.

On Wednesday, after Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career-high and franchise-record 64 points at Fiserv Forum, the Pacers took the game ball to the locker room.

The Pacers claimed they wanted to give the game ball to rookie Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored his first regular-season career point on Wednesday. While Tshiebwe also scored one point in the in-season tournament championship game, that game doesn’t count toward regular-season stats.

Bucks security later returned with a ball for Antetokounmpo, but the Bucks forward said he was unsure if the ball he received was actually the game ball.

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