Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Jalen Brunson’s Hilarious Live TV Moment with Charles Barkley as He Held Back to Keep It Light

Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks survived Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and have staged a remarkable 20-point comeback, to defeat the Indiana Pacers 106-100, barely narrowing the series deficit to 2-1. The Pacers dominated early, and built a 20-point lead in the second quarter behind strong play from their bench, with all 10 players who saw some minutes in the first half. However, the momentum shifted late in the third quarter and after Landry Shamet, a role player for the Knicks, took a charge on Pacers’ Obi Toppin, this ignited a 41-22 run to close the game for the Knicks. Karl Anthony Towns, who was mightily struggling in the first half and the 3rd quarter for the Knicks, decided to take the matter into his own hands in the fourth quarter as he erupted dropping 20 points in the fourth quarter, including 14 points in the first four minutes.

Jalen Brunson, star and the clutch player of the year, proved why he is one of the deadliest players in the league as he helped seal the win with two free throws and a floater in the final minute. The Pacers’ bench somehow had a bad game this time around, which we are not typically used to seeing, as the Pacers’ rotation has what has helped them to reach the conference finals for the consecutive season. Another concern going forward, is Pacers’ guard Aaron Nesmith’s ankle injury, going into Game 4. And even though he came back in the fourth quarter, we wonder if he’ll be a 100 percent for the rest of the series, as he had been extremely reliable with his three point shooting for the Pacers.

GAME 3️⃣ W✅ pic.twitter.com/zDSzlGI6p0
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 26, 2025

Also Read: 2x NBA Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist to Kings in 2025 Offseason Trade Rumors

Charles Barkley and Jalen Brunson’s Hilarious Moment On TV

Post game, on TNT’s Inside the NBA, Charles Barkley questioned Knicks’ head coach, Tom Thibodeau’s coaching, particularly his rotations, prompting a humorous response from Brunson. Barkley asked, “Jalen, what the hell is up with Thibs man? Y’all bench technically won the game for y’all tonight. Does he ever explain to y’all like, “I’m gonna play guys. I’m not gonna play guys?” Cause you got to admit, it’s kind of damn wacky.”

Brunson immediately smiled and laughed out a bit, but just as he about to clap back at Barkley’s question, he decided to hold back. “Ooh, I had a great comeback, but let me stop,” said Brunson, which was immediately received with a whole bunch of laughing from TNT’s crew and host, Ernie Johnson, who went on to encourage Brunson to let out the comeback that he had saying, “Don’t hold back.”

"I had a great comeback but let me stop." 🤣

Brunson was about to clap back at Chuck 😭 pic.twitter.com/GlHgJAIuHG
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 26, 2025

Thibodeau has caught a lot of flak for his coaching decision, and in Game 3 he decided to start Mitchell Robinson over Josh Hart, which was not well received by analysts and of course the Knicks’ fans. Coach is known to make his starter play heavy minutes, and barely relies on any help from his bench, which proved to be a wrongful decision, at least for Game 3. Should Thibodeau give some more minutes to his bench? Well, Brunson said that he has the utmost confidence in his coach’s decision and will continue to rely on what he wants to do.

The Knicks are still down in the series, and Game 4 will be a must-win game for them as they do not want to go down 3-1 to the Pacers, who have been red hot.

Also Read: “All the Pressure Is Still on Minnesota” — NBA Analyst Sounds Alarm Before Game 4, Timberwolves Must Respond Again vs. Thunder

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I cover the National Football League and things cannot get better than that. I always dreamed to play football or basketball professionally since I’m built like a Running Back. But now that I can’t, since I’m technically in the “Unc” age, I thought why not pick a career in sports industry? So here I am, doing what I love, and hoping that the Commanders win the Super Bowl. I give love to players when it’s due, but can be critical about their performances at the same time. Enough about me, now let my articles do all the talking.