Jalen Brunson and Scott Foster’s interaction after the New York Knicks won Wednesday’s NBA Finals Game 1, 105-95, against the San Antonio Spurs went viral. As soon as the final buzzer went off, the Knicks’ captain walked towards the sidelines, seemingly upset at something. It initially felt like Brunson got into it with Foster, but another angle suggested he had an altercation with a courtside fan, and the veteran referee merely intervened.
A few Knicks players came to pull Brunson away to cool things off. It was unclear what the situation was about, and many fans believed it was a back-and-forth with Foster. Earlier in the game, during the second quarter, Brunson charged at the official after sustaining a left ankle injury on a layup attempt. He took a few hits on that play, but no foul was called.
Brunson was upset by it and yelled at Foster, and had to be pulled back by a few of his teammates amid the possibility that the Knicks star would get whistled for a technical foul.
It was a frustrating night for New York, particularly after taking seven fewer free-throw attempts than the Spurs. That disparity was 25-14 in the Spurs’ favor before they played the foul game down seven with 29 seconds left. Brunson had four free-throw attempts, despite being uber-aggressive in getting to the paint.
Naturally, it seemed convincing that the issue was between Jalen Brunson and Scott Foster, as several social media aggregators reported as much. But that may not have been the case. Here’s what NBA fans made of the second interaction between the player and referee after the final buzzer.
One fan said:
“This is at a fan, not Foster.”
Another wrote:
“He’s yelling at someone behind the scorers’ table, not Scott Foster. Foster is trying to calm it down.”
One fan added:
“I’m pretty sure he and Foster were having a normal conversation and someone said something sitting behind Foster, and Foster slid over to try and stop Brunson from going at whoever said something.”
One fan said:
“Bold move lol. The guy gets a pretty friendly whistle overall. Not sure what he’d be complaining about. Especially after winning Game 1.”
Another wrote:
“He was complaining to Foster, then a fan called him out on it then he got in his feelings.”
Jalen Brunson overcomes multiple injury blows to lead Knicks to NBA Finals Game 1 win
The legend of Jalen Brunson continues to grow in New York after he guided the franchise to a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals. The Knicks were in a difficult spot, trailing by 13 points in the second half. Moreover, they also saw Brunson take two significant hits – one to his knee and the other to his ankle – in the first half.
The first injury occurred after Harrison Barnes fell on his right knee and Brunson left the floor. The second was after Brunson turned his left ankle following a drive attempt. However, neither injury kept him down. Brunson went on to produce one of the most special clutch efforts in the finals in recent memory.
Jalen Brunson scored 13 of his 30 points in that stretch. He shot 5 of 9, including the dagger to put the Knicks up six with 38 seconds left. Before that, Brunson also made a vital 3-pointer with the Knicks down one and 1:52 left.
New York stole the Spurs’ homecourt advantage for now and will hope to extend its playoff-winning streak to 14 games in Game 2.
Read more:
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