Thibodeau dismisses Pistons fans' anti-Brunson chants: 'He lives for that'
It's going to take more than some profanity to throw off the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year.
Detroit Pistons fans launched audible "F--k you, Brunson" chants during the New York Knicks' 118-116 Game 3 victory Thursday in Detroit, but Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau brushed off the notion that the crowd at Little Caesars Arena got into his star guard's head.
"To Jalen, those are cheers," Thibodeau said postgame, according to Ian Begley of SNY. "He lives for that stuff."
Brunson didn't appear bothered by the chants, which appeared to break out for the first time after he was assessed a flagrant 1 for hitting Tim Hardaway Jr. in the face on a 3-point contest midway through the first quarter. The Knicks guard finished with 30 points, second only to teammate Karl-Anthony Towns among all scorers.
He led all players with 12 in the final frame, with eight coming in the final 1:24 to help New York deny Detroit its first playoff win at home since Game 2 of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals.
Brunson, who said he'd never been subjected to that kind of targeted hostility from an opposing crowd in the NBA, credited the Detroit faithful for trying to inspire their squad.
"They made an environment special for their home team," Brunson said, courtesy of SNY. "At least we found a way to win the game, but that was definitely a lot. So I gotta give a lot of credit to that fan base."
Brunson will face the Pistons crowd again when the two sides square off Sunday in Detroit for Game 4.