After the Indiana Pacers defeated the NY Knicks by 4-3 in the playoff semifinal series, former Boston Celtics ace Paul Pierce couldn’t hold himself back from reacting to the loss. He shared a video that soon circulated in every corner of the NBA social media circles as the 46-year-old was spotted stomping Knicks’ Jalen Brunson’s jersey.
Earlier, Pierce said that if the franchise gets through the first round of the playoffs, then he would purchase Brunson’s jersey and wear it. When the Knicks swept the Philadelphia 76ers from round one, the former champion stood by his bet. However, he was certainly waiting for the moment when his greatest rivals would be beaten to execute the act, which received backlash from the NBA community.
As soon as the video was posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) by NBA Central, it stirred up reactions from the hoop enthusiasts.
A fan commented, “Grown man doing this is lame as hell”.
“Oh nah weirdo behavior”, added another one.
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While someone added, “That is so unnecessary. Dude was injured. Be respectful.”
Furious at Pierce’s behavior, a fan commented, “Very weird behavior for a guy in his late 40s”.
Taking a dig at Pierce’s career, someone wrote, “Brunson left it all on the court and took that Knicks team further than Pierce ever took the Celtics team on his own”.
The fans believed it was disrespectful to Brunson, who was unable to alter the result as he received a severe injury in their 109-130 loss.
Jalen Brunson fractures hand in Knicks loss
In the third quarter, when the game was already going in favor of the Indiana Pacers, Jalen Brunson swiped down at opponent Tyrese Haliburton while guarding him. However, this didn’t end well for the individual or the franchise.
The 27-year-old was soon taken to the locker room as he detected something had happened in his hand. Although he briefly returned to the court, Brunson had to soon leave with 3:02 remaining in the quarter as he couldn’t continue with his fractured hand.
“I thought I just jammed it, to be honest with you,” said the Knicks guard during the post-game presser, who returned just to leave the court after 14 seconds. “I looked down and knew something was wrong,” Brunson added.
Though the New York side couldn’t succeed in the post-season tournament, Brunson earned the star status for his outstanding performance, averaging 32.4 points per game in the playoffs and finishing in fifth spot in the MVP title race.
