It was appropriate for Jalen Brunscon to arrive at the clutch in the first playoff match on Saturday night, a day before being named as one of the three finalists of the NBA year player night (also known for the Jerry West trophy).
Brunson scored 12 or its maximum of 34 points in the final 8:27, which led the Knicks to a victory for game 1 that comes for the Pistons on Saturday night.
Duration of the regular season, Brunson averaged a league leading 5.6 points and fired 51.5 percent from the field in the clutch, when the game is inside the five points in the last five minutes, as defined by the NBA. He committed only 0.3 ball losses per game in such situations.
The other finalists are Anthony Edwards of the Timberwolves and Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets.
The NBA presented the award in 2022-23.
De’aaron Fox won the first year and Stephen Curry claimed the honor last season. One hundred media members vote on the prize.
For any of the teams, the greatest concern for injuries for Monday is Isaiah Stewart of Detroit, who has been dealing with knee and made a submarine gesture in the middle of the 21-0 race of the Knicks in the fourth quarter of game 1.
Follow the coverage of the Knicks post in the NBA playoffs
The piston coach JB BickerStaff said he had no update after Sunday’s film session, but indicated that Stewart was dealing with more than knee inflammation.
“There are many things there,” said BickerStaff.
Stewart was listed as questionable for game 2.
Stewart, a physical presence of the front court, was the only piston with a more minute positive (they beat the Knicks for eight points with him on the court), but only achieved 19 minutes.
“I think we all feel [his absence]. It was phenomenal [Saturday] Night, “said BickerStaff.” His effort, how he protected the edge, the energy he brought, how his teammates fed that energy, was huge. And when it is not on the floor for us, we all have to bring that. We have to find a way. Because we simply cannot rely on him and just wait for him to be. We have to play with that same fierce and that effort it makes. “
