Jalen Brunson still carries Knicks’ Game 7 loss to Pacers with him: ‘Bothers me’

Yes, nan Knicks were injured. Sure, they were incredibly shorthanded.

But, to Jalen Brunson, that didn’t lessen nan disappointment of their Eastern Conference semifinal nonaccomplishment past twelvemonth to nan Pacers.

“I mean, it still benignant of bothers me,” Brunson said connected Monday. “Obviously it was a missed opportunity past twelvemonth playing them astatine location successful Game 7, sloppy of who we had retired there.”

In that fateful Game 7, Brunson collapsed his near hand.

Josh Hart was constricted pinch an abdominal strain.

Mitchell Robinson was successful thoroughfare clothes, mislaid for nan postseason aft nan opening crippled of nan series.

OG Anunoboy could only muster 5 minutes owed to a strained hamstring he suffered successful Game 2.

Starting Wednesday, nan Knicks tin nonstop revenge and return to nan NBA Finals for nan first clip since 1999. Of course, they are very different.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges weren’t Knicks past spring, Isaiah Hartenstein, Julius Randle (who missed that Pacers bid arsenic good owed to injury) and Donte DiVincenzo are getting fresh to meet successful nan Western Conference finals and Brunson, Hart, Robinson and Anunoby are each healthy.

“It’s conscionable a wholly different team, wholly different situation, wholly different information of nan playoffs,” Hart said. “We conscionable gotta make judge we’re ready.”

While nan Pacers roster is similar, they characteristic immoderate differences.

Bennedict Mathurin, who torched nan Knicks successful 3 regular-season matchups this play to nan tune of 25.3 points and 52.6 percent shooting from 3-point scope connected 6.3 attempts, is healthy. He didn’t look successful past year’s series.

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The Pacers are an improved protect squad compared to a twelvemonth ago, going from 24th successful protect standing to 14th this season. They ain a plus-5.5 NET standing successful nan postseason, nan fifth-best people of nan 16 teams that reached nan main tie of nan playoffs, and dispatched nan favored and top-seeded Cavaliers successful 5 games successful nan 2nd round.

The Knicks are besides coming disconnected of a stunning upset themselves, a six-game bid triumph complete nan reigning champions successful which they rallied from ample second-half deficits successful their first 3 wins.

They were a agelong changeable to get past nan Celtics.

Sometimes, a shocker for illustration that tin person an adverse effect connected nan winning team. It tin beryllium difficult to refocus. Hart doesn’t judge that will beryllium nan lawsuit for nan Knicks.

Follow The Post’s sum of nan Knicks successful nan 2025 NBA Playoffs

• Vaccaro: The hoops trinity that turned Knicks from joke into title contender
• Mikal Bridges yet becoming difference-maker nan Knicks need
• The cardinal storylines successful Knicks-Pacers Eastern Conference Finals — from revenge to a caller villain
• Knicks statement pinch Timothee Chalamet, Russell Wilson astatine nine aft Game 6 win

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“We’ve been saying each year: Not everything was astir beating nan Boston Celtics,” he said. “They were this, they were that. It was ever being who we are. Being nan champion we tin be. Because erstwhile you’re truthful focused connected beating Boston aliases beating a definite opponent, erstwhile you do hit them, past you consciousness for illustration you’re connected apical of nan upland and past you person to effort to fig retired what to do next. For us, it ne'er was that.”

Knicks fans celebrated nan unexpected bid triumph for illustration nan squad won a championship, partying on Seventh Avenue good aft nan last buzzer.

The Knicks players, though, had a mild guidance erstwhile nan Game 6 rout was complete.

Afterward, each nan talk was astir bottling their champion capacity of nan postseason and replicating it. Reaching nan Eastern Conference finals wasn’t nan goal, coach Tom Thibodeau said that night. Their mindset entering nan postseason was 16 wins, not eight.

“For us, we cognize there’s a agelong measurement to spell and truthful we don’t really look astatine it arsenic an accomplishment,” Brunson said. “It’s conscionable nan adjacent step. We’re grateful, we’re thankful and we cognize there’s a agelong measurement to go.”

While nan constitution of this year’s squad is different, respective players retrieve really reliable a matchup nan Pacers tin be.

The Knicks held a 2-0 lead successful nan series, only to driblet 4 of nan adjacent 5 games. It stuck pinch Brunson. When asked what astir that bid still bothers him, he simply responded: “That we lost.”

Starting Wednesday, nan Knicks tin correct past May’s wrong.