Jalen Brunson Says Knicks Weren't 'Disciplined' in G4 vs. Pacers, Have to 'Be Smarter'
New York Knicks superstar guard Jalen Brunson lamented his team's lack of discipline Tuesday night following a 130-121 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Speaking to reporters after the Pacers took a commanding 3-1 series lead, Brunson said: "We just gotta follow our game plan. Game plan discipline. We weren't disciplined tonight, I wasn't disciplined tonight. We've just got to be smarter, I've got to be smarter. It's really that black and white."
New York had no answer for Indiana's fast-paced offensive attack in Game 4, as the Pacers shot 51.1 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from beyond the arc. They also go to the free-throw line 32 times, making 27 of their free-throw attempts.
Tyrese Haliburton led the way for the Pacers, recording a 32-point, 15-assist, 12-rebound triple-double to go along with four steals.
The Knicks turned the ball over 17 times, and the Pacers turned that into 20 points. Indiana also had 22 fast-break points compared to only nine for New York.
While Brunson led the Knicks with 31 points on 9-of-19 shooting, he had a minus-16 rating when he was on the floor, which was New York's second-worst mark of the night behind only Mitchell Robinson.
Most of the time, Brunson's game may have been considered a strong one, but when comparing it to what Haliburton did in Game 4, it is easier to understand why Brunson was so self-critical.
Haliburton was a plus-16 compared to Brunson's minus-16, and perhaps most impressively, he didn't turn the ball over a single time, whereas Brunson committed three turnovers.
In Game 3, the Knicks erased a 20-point deficit to come from behind, win and get themselves back in the series down 2-1.
They had a golden opportunity Tuesday to send the series back to New York tied 2-2, but they never truly posed much of a threat.
The Pacers led by eight after the first quarter and led by as many as 15 points during the game, while the Knicks never led by more than two and trailed for the entire second half.
Regardless of how it happened, the Knicks find themselves in a situation that teams haven't often overcome over the course of NBA playoff history.
Only 13 teams have ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win an NBA playoff series, and it hasn't been done since 2020 when the Denver Nuggets pulled it off twice.
The Knicks' attempt to mount a comeback and reach their first NBA Finals since 1999 starts Thursday when they head back to the Big Apple to host the Pacers in a do-or-die Game 5.
