Years before he took the Big Apple by storm, Jalen Brunson was cutting his teeth as a Dallas Mavericks rookie. With the ball in his hands against the San Antonio Spurs, Brunson fooled Bryn Forbes with a crafty spin move before stopping and popping a foul-line jumper over the outstretched fingertips of Jakob Poeltl. Brunson, who averaged a shade over nine points per game in 73 games as a rookie, erupted for a season-high 34 points on 12 of 16 from the field. He also chipped in five rebounds and four assists, and while the Spurs won the battle of Texas on March 12, 2019, it was a tide-turning performance for Brunson as it came during a string of 15 consecutive double-digit scoring efforts. · Mar 13, 2019