Jalen Brunson’s first NBA Finals appearance was frightening. Before halftime, the New York Knicks star had two major injury scares, which would’ve ruled him out for a stretch of games on a bad day. But it wasn’t just these collisions that had him visibly upset. He received little relief from the whistle after being repeatedly targeted by San Antonio, something he took exception to twice.

In the first quarter, Harrison Barnes crashed into Brunson’s right knee while battling for an offensive rebound. The Knicks guard immediately headed to the locker room for an evaluation, and the fanbase definitely skipped a heartbeat there. Although he returned not too long after, the physical punishment on him continued. Minutes later in the second quarter, Brunson attempted a difficult floater over Luke Kornet and Devin Vassell, and fell awkwardly before Kornet’s 250-pound frame landed on his left ankle. He got up with a noticeable limp, proceeded toward referee Scott Foster, and then screamed in his face.

The result? No reaction from the referee and no foul call either. Brunson also had a short, assertive conversation with the same official after the game, making a clear point. That’s because even though he finished the game shooting 12 of 31 from the field and 2 of 9 from deep, Brunson only visited the free-throw line four times. But he didn’t give up because of terrible luck and persisted despite his team trailing by 14 in the third quarter.

Brunson, Clutch Player of the Year last season, hit 5 of 9 shots from the floor in the fourth, alongside a significant 18-point, 12-rebound contribution from Karl-Anthony Towns overall. And after the game, the Knicks’ talisman assured the fanbase that he’ll be “alright” despite the injury scare.

What began as a frustrating shooting night transformed into another signature postseason moment for Brunson, who now owns the second-most 30-point playoff games by a point guard in NBA history. That pressure on Brunson was certainly no accident, though. Before the series, Spurs guard Stephon Castle had revealed San Antonio’s defensive blueprint.

“What’s worked for me is trying to be physical with him,” Castle said of his approach to guard Brunson. “He’s obviously shorter than me, but he’s a very physical guard. He gets to his spots well, uses deception well, and has great footwork. Trying to be as disciplined as I can, crowd his space, but not give him the angles he’s looking for. At this point, he’s seen pretty much every coverage, been guarded all kinds of ways.”

So, Castle’s blueprint was playing out in real time, and in Brunson’s view, Foster’s crew was letting it happen unchecked. Foster’s been in the middle of such controversies before. Bad calls are part of it, but the recently retired Chris Paul revealed that the official allegedly brought his personal off-court grudges against him to the forefront during games. CP3 had lost 13 consecutive playoff games with Foster as the referee.

The parallel isn’t perfect. Paul had a documented personal history with Foster that Brunson doesn’t share, at least not yet… But the structural problem is the same: a star guard, heavily targeted on drives, watching his team fall behind in a playoff series while the whistle stays silent. In The Athletic’s 2023 survey of 108 NBA players, Foster was named the league’s worst referee, far and away the leader with 25.4 percent of votes!

Usually, Brunson isn’t a player who engages too much with the officials. At the very least, he doesn’t scream in their faces, unlike last night. The centerpiece’s dad, though, wasn’t on board with blaming the officials instead of holding themselves accountable after an underpar performance. It’s something head coach Mike Brown shed light on after the game.

“We were all bitching too much at the officials,” Brown told reporters. “Rick Brunson was great. He told me to shut the hell up, and he told the rest of the team to be quiet and leave the officials alone. It was great of him because we were all kind of losing our minds.”

Championship-caliber teams find ways to survive their stars’ off nights, and that’s exactly what the Knicks did. Brunson’s supporting cast followed suit, buying him precious time to rediscover the form that has made him a premier playoff performer. OG Anunoby scored 17 points, Landry Shamet added 13 off the bench, and Mitchell Robinson (first game since surgery on broken right pinky) contributed two points and six boards in 13 minutes.

Behind that relentless comeback, a dominant effort from Towns, and yet another Brunson masterclass, the Knicks stunned the Spurs 105-95 on the road to steal Game 1 and seize early control of the Finals. But is this clutch display really that surprising to you?

Jalen Brunson defying the odds against San Antonio is not a one-time thing

Jalen Brunson has been the heartbeat of New York. He’s owned multiple moments with imperious play. He’s the first cornerstone to guide the Knicks to an NBA Finals since 1999. And it didn’t come without doubts. Becky Hammon famously claimed ‘small’ guards can’t win championships in the NBA. Notably, the former Spurs assistant coach doubled down on her comments despite the Knicks reaching the NBA Finals. But she did give Brunson his flowers.

“I think the two best teams are probably in the West,” Hammon said last month. “I think Jalen Brunson’s a hell of a player. I’m speaking historically on the NBA with what I said. I don’t know why everybody’s so stuck on that. I said it two years ago. If he proves me wrong, he proves me wrong.”

Nonetheless, Brunson has become everything the Knicks needed on this journey. He’s led them by scoring, but it’s his impact in the clutch that’s been invaluable to Mike Brown.

Two weeks ago, down 22 points with under eight minutes left in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Cleveland, Brunson turned in a 38-point masterpiece, scoring 15 in the fourth quarter alone, to complete a stunning 44-11 run and win in overtime, 115-104. It remains the second-largest fourth-quarter comeback in the play-by-play era, and the largest in Knicks franchise history. And if the past is history, then Brunson gave a gift in the present as well.

Despite a poor three quarters against San Antonio, he took over. Stephon Castle and the Spurs thought physicality would work all game. But in the clutch, there aren’t many who deliver like Brunson. He closed Game 1 out with a supreme fourth-quarter display. Brunson flew for offensive rebounds, kept the ball moving, and most importantly, put it through the nylon when the game depended on buckets.

Brunson scored 13 in the final quarter alone, including a personal 5-0 run to stun the Spurs on their home floor. On the other hand, San Antonio struggled with its three-point shooting. They shot an abysmal 5 of 26 on above-the-break 3s, accounting for the lion’s share of their dismal 11 of 42 overall from beyond the arc. To make things worse, the Spurs missed all 9 of their 3-point attempts, and Victor Wembanyama’s scoring and rebounding dipped.

Pivoting back to NY, there may still be doubts. But Brunson is proving that history won’t always repeat itself. He’s an outlier who is leading the hottest team in the NBA playoffs right now, and the Knicks are currently on 12 consecutive wins, aiming for another outrageous sweep.