JALEN Brunson left New York Knicks fans on edge when a painful grimace appeared on his face during the NBA star’s WWE SmackDown cameo.
The 6-foot-1 point guard had to address concerns that he had re-injured his broken hand after reigniting his rivalry with Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton on Friday night.
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Brunson, 27, received a thunderous ovation at Madison Square Garden, where he led the Knicks to an impressive playoff run just a month earlier.
But the cheers quickly turned to boos when WWE United States Champion Logan Paul entered the arena for a Money In The Bank qualifying match with Santos Escobar and LA Knight shortly after.
Paul delivered a surprise to the MSG audience by bringing out Haliburton – the new villain for the Knicks faithful.
The Pacers star stared intensely at Brunson on the way to the ring.
During the match, Paul told Haliburton to put on brass knuckles and help him claim victory.
And Brunson approached the ring to confront Haliburton before being told by the referees to leave.
Knight finally defeated Paul, who the Pacers All-Star rejoined in the squared circle.
Brunson then came to the outnumbered Knight’s support, sliding into the ring with a metal chair in hand.
Once standing, he picked up the chair and looked at his left hand — which he broke in Game 7 of the second-round playoff series with the Pacers — while apparently feeling some pain.
It is not known whether the moment was part of the script.
But it left Knicks fans concerned.
“No way Brunson is here trying to fight with his fucked up hand, the Knicks are never going to the Finals,” one post on X posted.
“It looks like Brunson injured his left hand. Wasn’t it broken?” another asked.
“Brunson was grimacing because of his recently broken hand haha,” said a third.
NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs
First round
Boston Celts (1) 4-1 Miami Heat (8)
Cleveland Cavaliers (4) 4-3 Orlando Magic (5)
Milwaukee Bucks (3) 2-4 Indiana Pacers (6)
New York Knicks (2) 4-2 Philadelphia 76ers (7)
Conference Semifinals
Boston Celts (1) 4-1 Cleveland Cavaliers (4)
Indiana Pacers (6) 4-3 New York Knicks (2)
Conference Finals
Boston Celts (1) 4-0 Indiana Pacers (6)
“Knicks fans shitting bricks watching Brunson check his hand,” wrote one.
Later that night, Brunson eased his worries.
“I just fulfilled a childhood dream,” he said. wrote on X.
“And yes, the hand is fine haha, you guys can relax.”
Brunson capped off his dream WWE appearance by posing for photos with Knight as well as the organization’s COO, Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
The Knicks guard underwent surgery on his fractured hand in late May.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
