The New York Knicks were knocked out of the NBA playoffs nearly a month ago, but one play is still haunting Jalen Brunson.
In an interview with Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks, Brunson was asked if there is any lingering memory that's still bothering him during his offseason.
Brunson pointed to the go-ahead three-pointer by Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard in Game 3 of the Knicks' second-round series.
"The one thing that pops into my head is Andrew Nembhard hitting that three in Game 3," Brunson said. "Props to him, I'm not mad. But, just — damn. I actually played somewhat good defense right there! And he makes the ball from 30 feet, 35 feet, whatever it is."
The Knicks and Pacers were tied at 106 in Game 3 with 22 seconds to play, when Tyrese Haliburton passed out of a double-team to Nembhard on the left wing. Nembhard bobbled the ball, attempted to drive, then pulled back, as Brunson cut off his driving lane. With the shot clock down to 2 seconds, Nembhard launched a 31-foot stepback three that was nothing-but-net as the clock expired, sending the Indiana crowd into a frenzy.
Nembhard was 1-for-7 for the game before that shot.
On the other end, Brunson rushed a contested three to tie the game and missed. The Pacers ended up securing the win to make the series 2-1.
It was a fork-in-the-road moment for the Knicks. Had Nembhard's shot not gone in, they could have gotten the ball back with a chance to win the game. A win would have given them a 3-0 series lead — a deficit no NBA team has ever come back from.
The Pacers went on to win three of the next four games to win the series while injuries piled up for the Knicks — including Brunson breaking his hand in the third quarter of Game 7.
Brunson, however, said he dislikes using injuries as an excuse.
"I hated to use the narrative of, hey we didn't win because we were hurt," Brunson said. "We had a chance to still win that series being hurt. We won against Philly being hurt. It's very doable, so I hate using that excuse. It's just unfortunate."
Watch Brunson's answer below:
