Steve Kerr comes to Jalen Brunson’s defense a day after Knicks guard jeered by Pistons fans

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson was booed almost every time he touched the ball in Game 3 against the Detroit Pistons.

Brunson heard much worse than that Thursday night during a win that gave the Knicks a 2-1 lead in the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

Fans at Little Caesars Arena directed a three-word chant at Brunson — beginning with a four-letter profanity and ending with his name — on numerous occasions. Golden State’s Draymond Green heard the same phrase in Houston this week, and on Friday, Warriors coach Steve Kerr came to the defense of both players and scolded the fans.

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau wasn’t concerned about Brunson getting his feelings hurt.

“To Jalen, those are cheers,” Thibodeau said. “He lives for that stuff.”

Brunson said he hadn’t been subjected to verbal abuse like that previously in seven NBA seasons.

“Do I think it’s cheers? No,” he said. “But it’s just another way to get me focused and poised.”

The Pistons put the NBA’s fan code of conduct, which prohibits obscene language, on videoboards throughout the night, but that did nothing to stop the chant.

Rockets fans yelled the same ugly words at Green during Houston’s Game 2 win on Wednesday night — and Kerr has heard enough. Guidance on fan behavior is also shown on the big screen before games in Houston.

Kerr lamented that fans often use foul language at games, adding that players are held to certain standards of behavior and fans should be more respectful.

“It feels like we’re stepping way over the line,” he said. “I know our fans aren’t going to do that. I would just implore fans everywhere to not cross the line. You can yell at the players and you can say a lot of things, but I just find it disturbing, 20,000 fans yelling (a profanity) to a player. There are kids all over the arena. Like, what are we teaching our kids?

“And I understand it’s an emotional time when you come to a game and you want your team to win, but the league asks the players to watch their decorum, I think we should ask our fans to do the same.”

Rockets star Dillon Brooks said he appreciated the fans for being engaged and doing their part to create a home-court advantage.

“I like it. It was good. Let the fans get going,” Brooks said of the taunting directed at Green. “Anything to get our fans going is great to hear the noise, to hear the energy being built within the arena.”

Golden State guard Brandin Podziemski said most people know what the line is, but acknowledged it gets stepped over by fans.

“I heard it was worse in Boston in the ’22 Finals than it was last game,” Podziemski said. “But for me I try not to worry about any fan, if they’re talking to me or not, I just try to go out there and play.”

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This story has been corrected. A previous version included a quote that was mistakenly attributed to Steve Kerr.

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AP Sports Writers Janie McCauley in San Francisco and Kristie Rieken in Houston contributed to this report.

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