Knicks Upset Over Refs Treatment of Jalen Brunson

Supposedly facing 78 officiating issues from the Indiana Pacers, the New York Knicks are focused on an issue with No. 11.

Per SNY’s Ian Begley, the Knicks are displeased with the way that Jalen Brunson’s game has been governed by officials over the first two games of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Indiana Pacers. The report comes shortly after Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle accused officials of favoring the Knicks over his “small-market team” and reportedly sent a list of 78 missed or incorrectly called whistles over the first two games, both New York victories.

“League sources have told SNY’s Ian Begley that members of the Knicks organization are upset with how star point guard Jalen Brunson is being officiated thus far in the series,” the SNY report says. “Per Begley, there’s a feeling that the MVP-candidate is being grabbed and hit up and down the floor and it’s going unnoticed by the refs.”

Though renowned for his outside shooting, Brunson has hardly been hesitant about invading the interior on both sides of the ball. Brunson was second in charges drawn this season (35, behind only Golden State’s Brandon Podziemski) and averaged a career-best 6.5 free throw attempts per game this season.

But this isn’t even the first time the Knicks have been peeved about the way Brunson is officiated: frustration reached a boiling point after a late March loss to San Antonio, which saw Brunson earn 61 points (one short of a Knicks single-game record) on only six trips to the foul line.

“A foul is a foul. That’s what I do know,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said at the time, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.“What I’m hearing (from the referees), I don’t really like. I don’t know what else you could do, what else you can say. It’s clear as day. It really is that simple.” 

Brunson currently leads all playoff particpants with 83 free throw attempts in eight games, including 20 over the past couple against the Pacers. That advantage figures to only inflate further come Friday night: Brunson is 15 attempts ahead of his closest active competitor (Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell) and the Knicks will go for a 3-0 series lead against the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).

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