Knicks’ Jalen Brunson Takes Blame for ‘Horrific’ Performance in Game 1 Loss to Heat

The New York Knicks guard shot 0-for-7 from three-point range.

The Knicks got off to a less-than-ideal start in their second-round playoff series against the Heat on Sunday, and the team’s star point guard, Jalen Brunson, shouldered the blame after the 108–101 loss.

“Today, I was horrific,” Brunson said at the postgame press conference. “Very uncharacteristic by me, and this one’s on me. I gotta be better.”

Brunson was dominant in the first round against the Cavaliers and has developed into a budding star for New York, and his 25 points, seven assists and five rebounds in Game 1 against Miami wouldn’t typically qualify as “horrific” by most standards. But Brunson and the Knicks struggled mightily from behind the arc.

"There were key moments in the game where you need to finish strong and be strong, and that starts with me. Today I was horrific. Very uncharacteristic of me and this one is on me. I got to get better"

- Jalen Brunson on what separated Miami from them today pic.twitter.com/1BoR97fLDg

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 30, 2023

The Knicks were atrocious shooting the ball from deep, making just 20.6% (7-for-34) of their three-pointers. Brunson went 0-for-7 from long range, and in the end it cost New York. Miami dared the Knicks to shoot and threw several defenders at Brunson. It’s worth noting that New York was without All-Star power forward Julius Randle, who missed Game 1 with an ankle injury. 

Hopefully for the Knicks, they’ll get Randle back for Game 2. Tip-off for the second game of the series is scheduled for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT.