Toronto fans might be better off not poking the bear.
Jalen Brunson wasn’t backing down from a heckling fan during Tuesday’s 117-101 win over the Raptors to advance to the NBA Cup semifinals, putting up one of his most dominant performances of the season.
During the first quarter, a fan said something to Brunson that may have motivated him just a bit more, shaking his head and answering back to a bystander wearing a green hat sitting courtside.
Brunson turned around during an inbounds pass with three minutes remaining in the first quarter to bark back to the fan before passing it to center Mitchell Robinson. Robinson went on to pass it back to Brunson, who nailed a 3-pointer to give the Knicks a 28-25 lead.
Brunson turned around to the fan, shook his head, and continued to stare at him while he went back down the court for the next defensive possession.
The Knicks star point guard had 20 points in the opening quarter and finished with 35 points, shooting 13-for-19 from the field and a stellar 6-of-9 from 3-point range.
In a video posted on social media from a different angle, Brunson appeared to get into another verbal back-and-forth with some smack-talking fans sitting near the same spot as the other foe, but it is unclear if the altercation involved the same fan.
“Why you harassing me?” Brunson says to a fan. “That’s a flop,” the fan replied to Brunson.
“That’s a foul. Just playing by the rules.” Brunson replied before the fan continued repeating, “Don’t flop my boy. Stop flopping.”
Brunson doesn’t need any extra motivation right now, as the Knicks’ best player is on a heater.
The two-time All-Star is averaging 32.7 points, 5.7 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game in his last three games as the Knicks have secured four straight wins and prepare for a semi-final matchup with the Magic with the chance to advance to the NBA Cup final.
