Jalen Brunson picked up his fifth foul in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals with over 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter of just a three-point game. The foul forced the Knicks' captain to the bench during a critical stretch where he has played some of his most valuable basketball during these playoffs. It was a thoughtless foul, one of many committed by Brunson in the game, and something he must avoid going forward, or it could cost the Knicks everything.
It was the second time in three games that Brunson found himself in foul trouble at a critical time, after fouling out in Game 5 against the Celtics. The Knicks' second-best offensive player, Karl-Anthony Towns, is already prone to undisciplined fouls; they cannot afford to have Brunson missing precious chunks of time due to carelessness.
The Knicks ultimately fell to the Pacers 138-135, after a collapse of epic proportions, blowing a 17-point fourth quarter lead.
Brunson's teammates had his back, for a little...
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The rest of the Knicks' roster stepped up in a major way after Brunson was forced to the bench, going on an immediate 14-0 run, which was spearheaded by OG Anunoby scoring five straight points. In total, Anunoby scored seven points during the stretch.
However, things came apart at the seams midway through the fourth, as the Pacers hit big 3-pointer after big 3-pointer to pull off the epic comeback. It is hard to put all of the blame on Brunson for a couple of reasons. First of all, four other players on the court are equally responsible for losing the lead. Second, the collapse didn't happen while Brunson was on the bench in foul trouble.
On the other hand, Brunson fell into the exact trap that Indiana set for him...
Falling into their trap
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The Pacers apply more ball pressure than any team in the league. Throughout the whole game, they were picking Brunson up full court, relentlessly making him work to get the ball up the floor, even before getting into their offensive sets.
Going into the game, the Pacers had 236 defensive possessions where they had at least two defenders in the backcourt in these playoffs. Because of how much depth they have, they have the luxury of picking players up full court and wearing them down both physically and mentally.
No one on Indiana's roster can guard Brunson for a full game one-on-one, but the constant pressure did take a toll and resulted in Brunson making multiple careless fouls, eventually sending him to the bench.
The Knicks, and Brunson in particular, will have a long two days to reflect on what went wrong before Game 2. What is clear, though, is that Brunson cannot put the Knicks in that position again if they want to get out of this series alive.