{"id":409,"date":"2026-06-04T11:07:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T11:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=409"},"modified":"2026-06-04T11:07:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T11:07:46","slug":"jalen-brunson-overcomes-injury-scares-cold-shooting-to-lead-knicks-to-game-1-victory-in-nba-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=409","title":{"rendered":"Jalen Brunson overcomes injury scares, cold shooting to lead Knicks to Game 1 victory in NBA Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For most of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, it did not look like Jalen Brunson was about to deliver anything close to a signature performance.<\/p>\n

Read more General Plan approved despite fervent opposition<\/a><\/p>\n

He started 1-of-8 from the field, a rut that would extend to 5 of 18.<\/p>\n

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For the game, he shot just 12 of 31.<\/p>\n

Between all of those misses, Brunson endured a pair of injury scares, including one that caused him to go to the locker room.<\/p>\n

But Brunson shook it all off to lift the Knicks when they needed it most, delivering down the stretch in their 105-95 victory over the San Antonio Spurs at the Frost Bank Center.<\/p>\n

With the Knicks trailing, 95-94, and about two minutes remaining, OG Anunoby missed an open 3-pointer. Brunson leapt and deflected the ball as the Spurs\u2019 Devin Vassell leapt for it, sending the long rebound into Mikal Bridges\u2019 hands.<\/p>\n

Brunson then went to the corner, received a pass from Bridges and nailed the open look, putting the Knicks up 97-95.<\/p>\n

Then with 37.8 seconds left and Vassell all over him, Brunson pump-faked, leaned in and sank an off-balance dagger, putting the Knicks up by six.<\/p>\n

Brunson scored 13 of his game-high 31 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 5 of 9 in the period.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t really my night for most of the night, but we kept finding a way,\u201d Brunson told ESPN afterward.<\/p>\n

Brunson drilled a 3-pointer on the Knicks\u2019 opening possession, but he struggled to find a rhythm after that.<\/p>\n

Primarily guarded by second-year Spurs defensive stopper Stephon Castle, Brunson missed his next six shots as the Spurs opened a 25-17 lead.<\/p>\n

It got worse when, with 2:03 remaining in the first quarter, Brunson appeared to tweak his right leg. Landry Shamet collided with the Spurs\u2019 Harrison Barnes near the basket, and the latter fell backward into Brunson\u2019s knee.<\/p>\n

The crash left Brunson in visible discomfort, and after about 30 seconds, the Knicks\u2019 captain checked out and went straight to the locker room.<\/p>\n

Brunson went back to the bench at the start of the second quarter. About four minutes into the quarter, Brunson returned to the game, looking a bit hobbled during his first few possessions back in.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old Brunson started 1 of 8 from the field before he finished a floater, but as he landed, he appeared to lightly turn his left ankle. Spurs center Luke Kornet then stepped on Brunson\u2019s ankle, causing him to shout in pain.<\/p>\n

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An irate Brunson screamed at referee Scott Foster going into a timeout, contending he was fouled.<\/p>\n

Brunson caught fire coming out of the timeout, taking advantage of a matchup against rookie Carter Bryant with Castle on the bench. Brunson scored on three straight possessions, all in the paint, as shot-blocking Spurs center Victor Wembanyama \u2014 the NBA\u2019s Defensive Player of the Year \u2014 also received a rest.<\/p>\n

But all told, Brunson shot just 5 of 15 in the first half, scoring 11 points with two assists and three turnovers.<\/p>\n

He was a -11 in the first half, after which the Knicks trailed, 55-48.<\/p>\n

That cold shooting continued into the second half, as Brunson was just 5 of 18 \u2014 and 1 of 7 on 3-pointers \u2014 by the time the Knicks fell behind, 65-51.<\/p>\n

But Brunson scored six points in the final five minutes of the quarter, helping the Knicks rattle off a 25-11 run and tie the game, 76-76, going into the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

At that point, Brunson had scored 17 points on just 7-of-22 shooting.<\/p>\n

This is the first-ever trip to the Finals for Brunson, who averaged 26.9 points on 48.6% shooting and 6.6 assists per game through the first three rounds of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

He was the MVP of the Eastern Conference finals, in which the Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers.<\/p>\n

However, the 6-2 Brunson had not faced a defender quite like the 6-6 Castle, whose mix of length, athleticism and energy has turned him into one of the NBA\u2019s fastest-rising two-way stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis intensity and tenacity is special,\u201d Brunson said of Castle ahead of Game 1. \u201cHe plays with a chip on his shoulder. He\u2019s had that since I\u2019ve seen him at UConn. The way he\u2019s played over these first couple years of his career, he\u2019s going to be a great player, great defender.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over three Knicks-Spurs games during the season, Castle held Brunson to 3-of-11 (27.3%) shooting. The versatile Castle also defended the 7-foot Karl-Anthony Towns at times during those meetings.<\/p>\n

But it became clearer and clearer that Castle would receive the Brunson assignment in the Finals after he limited Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai-Gilgeous Alexander \u2014 the back-to-back NBA MVP \u2014 to 45.5% shooting in the Western Conference finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what\u2019s worked for me is trying to be physical with [Brunson],\u201d Castle said before Game 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s obviously shorter than me, but he\u2019s a very physical guard, he gets to his spots well. Uses deception well, has great footwork. Trying to be as disciplined as I can, crowd his space, but not give him the angles that he\u2019s looking for.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Read more Judge: Closed-door House committee meetings were illegal<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jalen Brunson overcomes injury scares, cold shooting to lead Knicks to Game 1 victory in NBA Finals – Sports | Hawaii Tribune-Herald<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nJalen Brunson overcomes injury scares, cold shooting to lead Knicks to Game 1 victory in NBA Finals - Moving to Hawaii Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=409\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jalen Brunson overcomes injury scares, cold shooting to lead Knicks to Game 1 victory in NBA Finals - 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