Image Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Jalen Brunson Blames New York Knicks’ Lack of Discipline For Game 4 Loss to Indiana Pacers

Jalen Brunson admits lack of discipline amongst Knicks.

Image Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

New York Knicks’ guard Jalen Brunson opened up on his team’s Game 4 loss in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Indiana Pacers. He shouldered the responsibility of the loss, while blaming it on his and his teammates’ lack of discipline. Notably, the Pacers secured a commanding 3-1 lead over the Knicks, and are just one win away from making it to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000.

Brunson, who finished the game with 31 points, five assists and two rebounds, spoke to the media following the defeat, which pushed them to the edge of elimination. During his address, he also talked about how their constant turnovers impacted the Knicks. The two-time NBA All-Star said, “I know this is a copycat league, but a lot of teams have different identities. And so obviously their identity is playing fast, make or miss, run the floor, and we just got to follow our game plan discipline.”

He added, “We weren’t disciplined tonight, I wasn’t disciplined tonight, we just got to be smarter, I got to be smarter, it’s really that black and white.” Following Tuesday-night’s performance, Brunson became the first Knicks’ player to have a single playoff run with 450+ points and 100+ assists.

“Didn’t Match Their Pace and Their Inspiration”- Karl-Anthony Towns on Knicks’ Game 4 Loss

After the Knicks’ loss to the Indiana Pacers in the crucial Game 4, star center Karl-Anthony Towns admitted that their side wasn’t able to match the Pacers’ kind of pace and inspiration. He said, “We didn’t match their pace and their inspiration, too.” KAT finished the night with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists.

He added, “We just didn’t match what they came to do tonight to start the game and in true fashion to our whole playoff run we put ourselves in a deficit, got ourselves out of the deficit and usually we feel good about us in a close game going into the fourth quarter and showing our resilience. But you get burned if you put yourself in that position too many times.”

Notably, during the game, the five-time NBA All-Star banged his knee twice during the contest and was visibly in pain towards the end. He banged knees with Pacers’ forward Aaron Nesmith, immediately grabbed his knee. However, he re-entered the court and finished the game, but unfortunately failed to push the side for a victory.

Sitting on the edge of elimination, the Knicks will now clash against the Pacers on Thursday, May 29.

Jalen Brunson

New York Knicks

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.