Jalen Brunson kept things real as the New York Knicks sustained a one-sided beating to the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. After defeating the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks, the Knicks and Pacers respectively managed to make it to the second round of the playoffs and have been matched up in a 7-game series.
Although the Knicks won both games at home and could have put the Pacers in a 3-1 deficit with a victory in Game 4, New York was unable to do so or even make this game a close one. After the game had concluded, Jalen Brunson was interviewed and asked to share his thoughts on this recent loss.
Jalen Brunson scored just 18 points as the Knicks lost to the Pacers
Heading into Game 4 vs the Pacers, one could argue that Jalen Brunson was the best player in the entire playoffs. He has been singlehandedly carrying the offensive load for the Knicks and is undoubtedly the main reason that they are in their current position.
While Brunson has been scoring well in this postseason, he had a bad shooting night in Game 4 and finished with only 18 points. He was also inefficient, making 6 of 15 field goal attempts and 0 of 5 three-point attempts. Since their best player was not playing well, the Knicks fell behind from the very start of the game and ended up suffering their worst loss of the playoffs with a final score of 121-89.
Given that the Knicks were favored to win this series, the pressure has now fallen back on them to win Game 5. During the postgame interview, Brunson explained what went wrong but did not make excuses for his team’s lackluster performance.
“I mean we can talk about fresher legs we can give us all the pity that we want. Yeah, we’re shorthanded but that doesn’t matter right now. We have what we have and we need to go forward with that…There’s no excuse whatsoever. If we lose we lose…So that’s what that was.”The Knicks already did not have Julius Randle heading into the playoffs. OG Anunoby also sustained a hamstring injury and did not play. There are several other members of the Knicks’ roster dealing with injury. However, Brunson did not use that factor as an excuse and kept things real when discussing his team’s current situation.
Have the Pacers turned this series around?
Although the Knicks were considered the better team heading into this series, the loss of OG Anunoby has tilted the scale in the favor of the Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton has been playing at an elite level and led his team to a much-needed win in Game 4.
Given that this series is now tied at 2-2, it is still too quick to claim that the Pacers have turned things around. The outcome will likely be decided by the upcoming Game 5. After all, the team that wins will be just 1 win away from victory. On the other hand, the loser of Game 5 will have to deal with the pressure of elimination for 2 games in a row.