Jalen Brunson was mostly brilliant for the first 47 minutes of Game 1.
He had 37 points on 15-for-22 shooting. His layup with 59 seconds to play gave New York a nine-point lead over the Indiana Pacers.
And then things deteriorated – quickly. There were plenty of defensive mistakes in the final six minutes on Wednesday night. There were missed free throws. Missed opportunities to rebound the ball.
But maybe more than anything else, the strangest part of the Knicks’ collapse was Bunson’s role in it.
He had three turnovers in the final 5:30 of the game.
Brunson also made his free throws late and came up with a big basket in overtime. And he didn’t let Obi Toppin free for a put-back dunk in overtime; he didn’t fail to foul Toppin on one of Indiana’s final possessions.
He didn’t lose Andrew Nembhard as a cutter on a key play late in overtime.
But Brunson didn’t close the game cleanly. He’s been so good late in games that you expect him to be perfect in these situations. He was far from perfect on Wednesday.
Now, the Knicks will face the biggest test of their resolve to date on Friday night. They face a Pacers team that is brimming with confidence heading into Game 2. The Knicks have done well in challenging spots throughout these playoffs. But they haven’t faced a challenge like this yet.
Late Wednesday night, there was an understated confidence from the Knicks as they talked about the awful Game 1 loss and what lies ahead.
“The series just started. Just one game, just watch the film, learn from it and go from there,” OG Anunoby said.
“I feel like defensively we let off the gas, intensity and physically weren’t there,” Josh Hart said. “Offensively we were playing slower, a little stagnant. And looked like we were playing not to lose. We got to make sure we don’t make that mistake again.”
They’ll have another chance on Friday night at the Garden. All of a sudden, Game 2 is a must-win for the Knicks. If they make the same mistakes then that we saw in the important moments of Game 1, this Knicks season will end in disappointment.
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