Knicks Teammate Backs Jalen Brunson Amidst Pistons Fans' Boos

What felt like a hostile environment for New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson was merely another Thursday for Mikal Bridges.

Bridges is well used to his past and present teammate getting the lion's share of jeers when they enter opposing arenas. It was a buried tradition at Villanova and has continued upon their Manhattan reunion on the NBA circuit, especially with Detroit Pistons fans verbally targeting Brunson every time he touched the ball during Game 3 of the Knicks' Eastern Conference quarterfinal set.

Count Bridges among the New Yorkers amused by the happening, especially after a late flurry from the newly-minted Clutch Player of the Year spoiled the first NBA playoff game at Little Caesars Arena in six years.

“That’s nothing,” Bridges remarked of the Detroit dramatics as the Knicks practiced on Saturday, per Jared Schwartz of the New York Post. “Words ain’t going to hurt him. That’s wasting their breath or just to get the crowd going. But that don’t bother him at all.”

Irritated by Brunson's supposed foul-seeking, Pistons took to booing the Knicks captain every time he touched the ball in Game 3 of the series on Thursday night. Things ventured in an R-rated direction the later the game went on, as chants of "F*** you, Brunson" were audible on the game broadcast.

Brunson shook it off to score 30 points, the last dozen coming in the final eight minutes to secure a 118-116 victory that gave New York a 2-1 series lead. That's already his 14th playoff game where he has earned at least a triple decade in scoring, needing just over two tournaments to sit behind only Patrick Ewing for the most in franchise history.

Able to laugh off several in-game controversies in the victorious aftermath, Brunson was amused enough by Pistons fans' antics to give them props for their verbal efforts.

"I give them a lot of credit. They made an environment special for their home team," Brunson said in a video from SNY. "We just found a way to win the game, but that was definitely a lot, so you've got to give a lot of credit to that fanbase."