Jalen Brunson had a very simple message for Aaron Nesmith and the Indiana Pacers in a rematch of the 2024 Eastern Conference semifinals.
The fierce seven-game series between the two teams last season showed that the rivalry between the two teams was alive and well as neither side did everything they could to stave off elimination. In the end, it was Indiana who walked away victorious, setting up a date with the Boston Celtics.
Despite there being months since that fateful Game 7, it appeared as if Brunson had not forgotten the hard-fought battle. With just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter of the rematch between the New York Knicks and Pacers, Brunson drove to the basket and made the layup despite being draped by Nesmith.
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Brunson’s basket caused the Pacers to call a time out and as both teams were headed to their respective benches, the Knicks star was seen emphatically letting his emotions out. “Get the —- outta here, man!” he yelled.
As he walked in front of the fans, he added one more message. “Get this mother—— outta here!” Brunson proclaimed. The diminutive guard led all scorers with 26 points while adding five rebounds and five assists in his 30 minutes of action. Overall, the Knicks had four players score more than 20 points, with Mikal Bridges (21), Karl-Anthony Towns (21) and Josh Hart (20) joining Brunson.
Tyrese Haliburton was left scoreless in the Indiana Pacers’ first visit to Madison Square Garden (
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Pacers leader Tyrese Haliburton had a very forgettable night, scoring 0 points on 0-of-7 shooting from the field. To add insult to injury, the Pacers lost by 25 points, with Indiana seemingly not having the required fight to compete with the Knicks in New York.
After the game, Haliburton talked about his dismal performance and provided an introspected view of the game. Speaking to reporters, the 24-year-old gave a lengthy response to how he could play better and what he can improve with 80 more games remaining in the season.
“I was just bad, bro. It happens,” Haliburton said, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “I gotta be better defensively. I felt like I was already in my shifts, but again, just rebounding the ball better, take care of the ball better, just keeping us in a rhythm offensively.
“I gotta go back and watch the film. But again, it’s a matter of in two games, our offensive process is wrong or we’re missing shots. Well, my view right now is telling you we’re missing shots, but that’s probably an immature way to view it. I know we gotta be better and there’s probably, better way to approach what we’re doing offensively.
“The ball might be sticking in my hands and some other guy’s hands a little bit too much, but we’re gonna be fine. We just gotta make some shots.”
It might be just two games into the season but it appears as if Brunson and the Knicks are taking every matchup with the Pacers very seriously, if Friday’s matchup was any indication.