Jalen Brunson responds in big way as Knicks win Game 5
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) drives by Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) in the 1st quarter in game 5 of an NBA playoff Eastern Conference Semi-final round, Tuesday May 14, 2024, in Manhattan at Madison Square Garden. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Ten hours before playing one of the most important games of his career, Jalen Brunson had a message for Knicks fans who have been cheering for him all season long.
“I’m good,” Brunson said.
Correction: Brunson was great!
The All-Star guard had a huge game when his team needed him the most, scoring 44 points to lead the Knicks to a 121-91 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at the Garden.
The Knicks are one win away from going to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000. Game 6 is Friday in Indianapolis.
Brunson shook off two bad games to produce a game that puts him in very elite company. His 44 points mark the fifth time this postseason he has scored 40 or more points. Only four players since 1980 — LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and Bernard King — have had more 40-plus games in a postseason. Only one Knick, King, has done so.
Brunson, who scored 28 first-half points, shot 18-for-35 overall and added seven assists. He also made some very timely buckets, including scoring seven straight points after the Pacers made a run in the fourth to cut the Knicks’ lead to 12.
“As much as you talk about him, it’s not enough in what it means to the team,” Thibodeau said of Brunson. “He’s so willing to share everything with his teammates. To me, that’s the best part of him is his play is spectacular but who he is as a teammate, as a leader, it makes us that.
“Whether it’s big shot after big shot — and I just love there’s never any excuse making from him. He’s never talking about injuries. A lot of times, you hear people talking about their injuries. A lot of it is excuse-making. You never get that from him. It’s always, I’ll be better next game. Even when he plays a great game, ‘I’ll be better next game.’ And I love that mentality.”
Brunson’s heroics rubbed off on his teammates as they posted their most complete victory of the postseason.
Isaiah Hartenstein was a beast on the boards, grabbing 12 offensive rebounds and 17 total, helping the Knicks outrebound Indiana, 53-29. Deuce McBride, who earned his first playoff start, scored 17 points and hit three three-pointers. Alec Burks, who had played a minute in the playoffs before Game 3, finished with 18 points and five threes.
Brunson’s huge performance ended two days of nonstop fretting and handwringing by the Knicks’ faithful as the guard looked as if he was playing hurt in the two losses in Indianapolis.
Brunson had suffered a foot injury in the first quarter of the Knicks’ Game 2 win. After missing all of the second quarter, he added to his growing legend by pulling a Willis Reed — 54 years to the day of his memorable moment — by returning to score 24 points in the second half to put the Knicks up 2-0.
When the series moved to Indianapolis, it appeared that perhaps his Game 2 performance had simply been adrenaline. Brunson seemed to get tired initiating the offense while dealing with Indiana’s full-court press and the defense of Aaron Nesmith. Brunson looked particularly mortal in the Game 4 blowout loss, missing 11 of his 17 shot attempts and scoring a 2024 playoff low of 18 points. He didn’t successfully land a jump shot the entire game with all of his scores coming on layups. He was 0-for-8 on threes.
According to ESPN, Brunson’s average jump height on his shots in Game 4 was a1.44 feet, which computes to be 17.28 inches. That’s significantly less that the 1.67 feel (20.04 inches) that he averaged against Philadelphia in the first series.
“One thing I’ve learned in the playoffs is that one game does not have any effect on the next” Brunson said. “Whether you lose by one or lose by 30, it has nothing to do with the next game. So, honestly when we’re leaving here tonight, it’s all about how we prepare for Game 6.”
Thibodeau said he’s not surprised that Brunson was able to do what he did.
“We’ve all come to expect him to be superhuman every night. And he’s an incredible player,” he said. “He’s loaded up on every night. He’s the focal point of everyone’s game plan. And sometimes it’s a case of missing shots, and they could be good shots.
“And so I think we all tend to forget that and the thing I love about his approach is he never gets crazy. he’s like a machine every day, he comes in locked in, this is what he’s gonna do, he’ll be ready for the next game”
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle seemed to sense before the game that his team was not going to have any easy time playing back at the Garden.
“This is an explosive environment,” Carlisle said. “ . . . Things happen here.”
Yes, they do and they’ve been happening here all season. Brunson’s play has pushed the team to new heights this year as he established himself to be one of the best team leaders in the history of the franchise. He may not have been 100%, or even 90%.
But it didn’t stop him from playing the best he could.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.