The Knicks pulled off a shocking 20-point comeback against the Pacers after going down 35-55 in the first half. Despite the Knicks’ rally back into the game, their superstar Jalen Brunson struggled for most of the game due to foul trouble as well as shooting woes.
The Knicks’ leading scorer only played 3 minutes in the final quarter of the game. When asked about seeming frustrated throughout the game until the Knicks rallied back, Brunson did not hold back from the media.
He said, “It’s an emotional game, it’s a long game. Things can happen, things can not go your way, and you can easily obviously crash out or you can respond the right way. That’s what came to mind, but I got people in my corner, people on this team who believe in me and believe in us. So just the conversations that we have as a team and the encouragement everything we do is important, and especially throughout a 48-minute game.”
While the box score may not show his frustrations on the face of it, as he had 23 points, he shot the ball very inefficiently. He went 6 of 18 from the field (including 1 of 5 from three-point range).
Brunson, widely dubbed as the King of New York was the catalyst in the Knicks’ journey up to the Eastern Conference Finals so far. But he’s always had faith in the team’s “next man up” mentality, so that one person does not face the pressure to produce every single night.
In Game 3, Karl-Anthony Towns took over the pressure from Brunson and carried the Knicks across the finish line down the stretch. Towns finished the game with 24 points, 20 of which came in the fourth quarter.
Where Do The Knicks Go From Here?
The comeback has given the Knicks some glimmer of hope at a time when the series seemed over midway through Game 3. This game has also shown that the Knicks can rely on their depth and don’t just have to over-exert their starters like Thibodeau is famous for doing.
After losing their way in the first two games of the series, the Knicks now have a chance to regain home-court advantage in Game 4 with a win. Brunson will need to brush off this forgettable game and move on to the next game with a clean slate in his mind. The Knicks’ star averages 29.9 points per game in these Playoffs. He will need to step up and perform even more if they are to have any chance of coming back in this series next game.
