Knicks coach Mike Brown criticised the free throw disparity after his team’s 115-107 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night, calling Jalen Brunson’s lack of attempts “alarming.” Brunson, who entered the night averaging a career-high 7.8 attempts, did not take a single free throw against the Cavaliers, and the loss ended the Knicks’ four-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden.
“I’m a little surprised,” Brown said. “I have to go back and watch the film, but Jalen plays 34 minutes and has zero free throw attempts. That’s pretty alarming.”
Overall, the Cavaliers shot 20-of-25 from the line, while the Knicks went 11-of-11.
“I’m not sure how or why it’s that way,” Brown said. “I know [at] one time the free throw advantage was 18-3. That’s not why we lost the game, but you just hope to get a little bit better whistle when you’re playing a good team because it’s already hard enough to go win the game.”
Brunson Responds on the Court and Off It
Brunson, the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week, scored 27 points on 12-of-23 shooting. The performance followed a difficult night against the Milwaukee Bucks, when he managed just 7-of-18 from the field. Brown, however, wanted more from his star guard, especially when compared with Cleveland guard James Harden, who went 9-of-11 from the line on his way to a season-high 32 points.
Brunson declined to engage in the debate after the loss.
“I’ll have to control what I can control, and I’ll leave it at that,” he said. “Sometimes you have to make adjustments, no matter how the game is being officiated or not. Being able to adjust in-game is part of not just playing basketball but playing sports.”
Hart Returns, Bridges Struggles
Brunson’s extra offence was necessary throughout the night. Josh Hart returned after a three-game absence due to a right ankle injury and illness, but he managed only six points.
Mikal Bridges continued to struggle. He played just 17 minutes and did not appear in the final quarter, a night after logging only four minutes in the second half of the blowout win over the Bucks. Brown pointed to the performances of Landry Shamet and Miles McBride, who combined to go 7-for-14 from three-point range, as the reason for Bridges’ reduced role against the Cavaliers.
Bridges entered the game averaging 6.3 points on 32.9% shooting, including 26.5% from beyond the arc. Brown rejected the idea of moving him out of the starting lineup, calling such a move a “panic decision.”
“It’s going to be hard to find minutes at times for Mikal and Josh because those two are playing at a high level,” Brown said. “He’s like a lot of players, had their good moments and not-so-good moments. Mikal has a track record of playing at a high level.”