Ultimately, it wasn’t good enough.
Not his 41 points. Not his five made 3-pointers. Not the 45 gutty minutes he played.
Jalen Brunson was heroic in defeat, two days after he played every second in a season-saving win.
He couldn’t extend the Knicks’ season any longer, his first year in orange and blue ending at Kaseya Center in a heartbreaking, 96-92 loss to the Heat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Brunson did everything he could, on a night when his teammates mostly didn’t have it.
He made 12 of 22 shots. They were 13-for-49. He scored 15 first-quarter points as the Knicks raced out to a 31-17 advantage and he made one big shot after another to keep his team within shouting distance as the Heat tried to pull away.
If Brunson was fatigued, he hid it well, becoming the first Knick with three straight 30-point playoff performances since Patrick Ewing in 1990.
Still, Brunson was hard on himself afterward, for what could’ve been.
The Knicks were within two points and had possession with a half-minute remaining.
Brunson had the ball near the baseline when he tried to squeeze a pass inside to Julius Randle.
Kyle Lowry was there to knock it away. Jimmy Butler then iced the game with two free throws, ending what was a fantastic first season as a Knick for Brunson.
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“Down two with the ball, I’ve got to give us a chance to even get a shot attempt,” he said. “That turnover is unacceptable.”
He quickly became the Knicks’ leader, guiding them to a surprising 47-35 record and a fifth-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
He led them to their first playoff series win in a decade, further emerging as one of the sport’s premier league guards. He just came up a little short on Friday night.
“Really happy to be a part of this organization. New York has been amazing and the fans have been amazing,” Brunson said. “It’s been really a great experience for myself and my family. And I’m already excited about next year. It’s going to be fun. We have a lot to prove to each other as teammates. We’ve got to use this as we move forward.”