Mike Brown slams the referees for letting Jalen Brunson’s defenders get away with fouls originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks suffered a tough loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. The defending champions struggled, especially in the second leg of a back-to-back.
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Still, the Knicks could have won; they only lost by eight points. Brunson led the charge for the champions with 27 points, but he never got to the free-throw line in his 35 minutes on the floor.
The Knicks are quite reliant on Brunson dominating on offense. He is one of the most unique point guards in the league because he thrives with posting up in the paint and living in that part of the court.
Physicality often plays a role in his game, so he gets fouled quite often. However, that did not happen for the Knicks because he did not get a single trip to the free-throw line, which frustrated Knicks head coach Mike Brown.
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It is difficult to build rhythm without going to the free-throw line. Brunson still did well as the star player, scoring 27 points, but free throws would have changed the game for the Knicks.
“The possession game, and we lost in every category. They had 14 more free-throw attempts than us… Jalen played almost 35 minutes; he had zero free-throw attempts. That’s pretty alarming. I’m not sure how or why it was that way. That’s not why we lost the game, but you hope you get a better whistle,” Brown said after the Knicks’ loss to the Cavaliers.
Moving forward, the Knicks will want to attack the basket even more to draw more fouls. However, Brunson will continue to play his game, and by doing so, he will naturally draw fouls to build his rhythm and get easier shots.
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