Chris Childs witnessed firsthand the difference in how Jalen Brunson and Shai-Gilgeous Alexander are officiated.
And though the free-throw discrepancy didn’t show up dramatically in that March 4 matchup at MSG (SGA took seven foul shots, Brunson had six), it’s a trend that will serve as a central storyline should the Knicks face the Thunder in the NBA Finals.
“I just wish [Brunson] would get the respect and the calls that all these other guys are getting when they’re flopping and falling,” Childs, the Knicks point guard from 1996-01, told The Post. “I was at the game when they played OKC and Shai was getting calls and Jalen was literally getting hit all the time.
“But he brushes it off. He was getting a little upset initially and he calms himself down. You got to be like that because if your teammates see you being feisty, they’re going to do the same thing and not stay focused; they’re going to do the same thing on the attention to detail going forward.”