Knicks can't worry about foul calls in Game 3 at Pistons

Is Jalen Brunson a world-class flopper?

Well, they certainly think so in Detroit. A “Brunson Flopping Mix Tape” has been posted on several Detroit-based social media sites and another site “Hater Report” has reposted a parody of Brunson practicing his so-called rag doll flops.

Well, one city’s flopper is another city’s savvy and fearless leader. Knicks fans are used to the way Brunson throws his body around, driving to the basket and drawing contact any way he can.

This goes a long way toward explaining why so many people, including Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, were incensed with the way the officials called — or didn’t call — fouls on Detroit defenders in the Pistons' 100-94 Game 2 victory Monday.

“Obviously, a huge discrepancy in the free throws. Huge,” Thibodeau said after the game. “Look, I don’t give a crap about how they call a game, as long as it’s consistent on both sides. If [Cade] Cunningham’s driving and there’s marginal contact and he’s getting to the line, then Jalen deserves to be getting to the line. It’s really that simple.”

Thibodeau’s beef certainly had statistical merit, especially in the first half as the Pistons were 13-for-14 from the free-throw line and the Knicks were 0-for-0 until Brunson was sent to the line with 17 seconds left in the second quarter. All told, Cunningham’s six free-throw attempts were three times the Knicks' team total in the first half.

The fouls on the two guards did even out in the second half as Brunson finished 9-for-11 from the free-throw line while Cunningham was 10-for-12.

The Knicks, despite getting slightly more calls in the second half, still attempted 15 fewer foul shots in the game than the 34 that the Pistons took. Through three quarters, the Pistons had attempted 22 free throws to the Knicks’ six.

The point here is that by the time the Knicks got to the second half, the damage was done. They let the referees take them out of the game early, expending too much energy on the fact that they weren’t getting the calls they thought they deserved and not enough on stopping Cunningham and finding other ways to score.

“Regardless if fouls are being called or not called, we’ve got to adjust, and I feel like we did that a little too late into the game,” said Brunson, whose average of 6.9 free-throw attempts per game in the regular season was fifth highest in the NBA. “Regardless of how it’s being reffed, you’ve got to adjust and you’ve got to adapt to that and go on from there.”

Brunson is right. The biggest concern heading into Thursday’s Game 3 in Detroit can’t be the officials. This is a physical series and officials are going to call it the way they are going to call it. The Knicks have to address the problems they can control, like trying to get more shots for Karl-Anthony Towns and playing consistent defense on Cunningham.

The Knicks have to come out of the gate Thursday like they really want this game. The Knicks have more talent and way more experience than Detroit, yet they trailed by eight points heading into the fourth quarter in both games. The fact that the Pistons rebounded from a devastatingly ugly fourth quarter in Game 1 says a lot about the toughness of their team and what a tough out — if they are an out — they are going to be.

Now, it’s the Knicks who are going to have to find some way to be resilient and do it in a hostile arena. Just as Knicks fans were screaming out the officiating in Game 2, you can bet Pistons fans are going to be screaming about Brunson being a flopper every time he draws a call.

Of course, as mentioned above, one city's flopper is another's savvy and fearless leader. Who cares what they think in Detroit? Towns, who did not shoot a free throw Monday for only the second time this season, said the Knicks can’t be worried about how the game is called or any other outside noise.

"If we let that creep into the minds, it becomes contagious," he said. "And it's not good for the team. So, do a better job and just block out the noise of that, and just play the game."

By Barbara Barker

barbara.barker@newsday.commeanbarb

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.