Knicks' Jalen Brunson Accepts Blame For 'Horrific' Game vs. Heat: 'This One Is on Me'

For the first time this postseason, the New York Knicks lost a game at Madison Square Garden as they fell to the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their second-round series.

And despite being arguably the team's best player in the loss, Jalen Brunson was ready to take the lion's share of the blame in his postgame press conference. He finished with 25 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds.

But he shot 11-of-23 from the field, including an 0-of-7 performance from beyond the arc.

"I was horrific. Very uncharacteristic by me, and this one's on me. I've got to be better," Brunson said.

Brunson's performance was symptomatic of the struggles that the entire Knicks roster was having from deep. They shot just 7-of-34 from three-point range, compared to 13-of-39 for Miami, who has been the best shooting team in the playoffs so far.

In his first postseason in New York, Brunson has been the organization's biggest star, as he carried the team at times in its series win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. He is averaging 24.2 points, 5.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds on 44.4 percent shooting form the field in the playoffs.

The Knicks will need him at his very best if they're going to outduel the Heat and their stars, including Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

One positive sign for Knicks fans is that RJ Barrett continued to step up in the absence of Julius Randle, who missed Game 1 with an ankle injury.

Barrett finished with a game-high 26 points to go along with nine rebounds and seven assists.

Game 2 of the series is set for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.