Jalen Brunson Has No Answers For His 5 Fouls In One Quarter

New York Knicks fans were left speechless after their star point guard Jalen Brunson committed five fouls in the third quarter of Wednesday night's Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics. Brunson, who ended up with 22 points in the game, would foul out with a little over seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Sure, one, two, maybe three fouls could be expected in such a high-stakes game where a win by Brunson's Knicks would have advanced them to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. But FIVE? Clearly something had to have been going on with Jalen, right? Unfortunately for Knicks fans, they don't know, as Brunson refused to answer any questions about it when speaking with reporters after the game.

BRUNSON HAD NO ANSWERS FOR HIS FOULS

"Five fouls in one quarter? I don’t know what you want me to say to that," Brunson responded when asked by a reporter after the Knicks lost by 25-points. "I’m not even going to say anything. I’m sorry."

Brunson's dead-panned, expression-less face was also confusing to Knicks fans.

Was Brunson at a loss for words about the meltdown that happened in the third quarter, where the Knicks were outscored 32-17, or was he refusing to say anything about the referees' officiating, knowing that he would not only get fined but cause a bigger distraction? After all, sometimes the silence can be the story. 

However, for a Knicks fanbase that is on edge, the last thing they need are more mind games in their fragile state right now.

REF JOB?

To be fair, some of Brunson's fouls were push-offs and hand-checks, which some fans noted on social media don't always get called in a playoff game. That is, until they do get called, and a player needs to adjust.

To say that the referees were individually targeting Brunson may be a bit of a stretch, as the Knicks would end up going to the foul line 40 times, compared to Boston's 26. So it's not like the Celtics were getting all the calls, as Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau acknowledged afterward.

"t’s one of those games where we had 40 [free throws], they had a lot as well," Thibodeau began. "It was a choppy game. I think that was also reflective of the aggression."

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BRUNSON SARCASTICALLY SMILES TO CELTICS CROWD

"Well, first, talk about who we’re playing. Let’s talk about the Celtics — the defending champs, a team with a lot of experience, a team that, obviously, we’ve seen what they’ve been able to do the past couple years," Brunson told reporters after the game. "Obviously, they won last year. You got to understand who we’re facing. And we need to be better, flat out. That’s what that means."

Brunson's words matched his mocking of Celtics fans when the TD Garden cameras panned to him on the bench after fouling out with him giving a sarcastic smile and wave.

Either Brunson realized early on in the third quarter that he was likely going to be a target by the referees when he played even remotely aggressive on defense, or he just had one of those nights… something that he knows he can't have again, as the Knicks will want to close this one out on Friday night when Game 6 returns to Madison Square Garden in front of their hometown crowd.

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