BDA2K26 PLAYOFFS | GAME RECAP
CAPTAIN, DUKE, AND THE STANDARD: DEVILS SWEEP ACES 96-72
Jalen Brunson closed the sweep with 50 points and 12 threes while Cooper Flagg supplied nine assists in a 96-72 clincher.
QF3 Round 1 Game 4 — New Jersey Devils 96 at Atlantic City Aces 72. Series before: New Jersey 3-0. Series after: New Jersey wins 4-0. Winner: New Jersey Devils. Location: Atlantic City.
Jalen Brunson opened the series with 39 points. He closed it with 50.
The New Jersey Devils beat the Atlantic City Aces 96-72 in Game 4 to complete a first-round sweep, and the captain turned the clincher into the loudest argument yet for New Jersey’s unconventional rotation.
Brunson scored 50 points in 19 bench minutes, made 17 field goals and buried 12 of 14 threes. Atlantic City spent four games trying to solve the player who did not appear in New Jersey’s starting lineup and ended the series watching him produce the biggest scoring night of the matchup.
But the Devils were not simply Brunson plus spectators.
Cooper Flagg scored only two points and still shaped the game with nine assists, two steals and a plus-9. LaMelo Ball added 19 on 9-for-14 shooting. Scottie Pippen controlled both ends, Zach Edey grabbed 10 rebounds and Lu Dort finished with four assists and three steals without a turnover.
New Jersey shot 16-for-18 from three, forced 15 turnovers and detonated the game with a 31-14 third quarter.
The Devils swept the series 4-0. Brunson was the fire. Flagg kept learning how to move it. New Jersey became the first team through to the next round.