New York Knicks Jalen Brunson Has Extra Motivation vs. Indiana Pacers

New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson has come a long way in his basketball journey. At every stop people questioned him, but he continues to prove naysayers and nonbelievers wrong each time he takes the court.

After Round 1 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, Jalen Brunson likely has a few more admirers. He put the New York Knicks on his back in the final few games of the series, helping the team advance to Round 2 for a matchup against the Indiana Pacers.

Against the Philadelphia 76ers, Brunson averaged 35.5 points, 9.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. The 35.5 points per game are the most of any player in the postseason and he tied Bernard King for the most points in a single series in franchise history. He also joined elite groups featuring the likes of Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Oscar Robertson.

It will be interesting to see what he has in store for the Eastern Conference semifinals. In three regular-season games against Indiana, Brunson was dominant averaging 35.7 points, 3.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds.

Could we see even bigger performances in the NBA Playoffs? There is certainly a chance of that, as Jalen Brunson has some added motivation heading into the series. As shared by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon on The Hoops Collective podcast, the history between the New York Knicks star and Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle will be fuel to the fire.

“3 years ago, Jalen Brunson played 10 minutes in a Game 7 loss, and he didn’t play a whole lot more than that in the previous few games. Rick basically pulled the plug on him.

“I can assure you this, Jalen Brunson remembers getting benched in that series.”

“Jalen got a lot of the stuff that maybe should’ve been going to Luka. A lot of the film sessions were particularly harsh on Jalen.” (H/T The Strickland)