San Antonio (AFP) – Jalen Brunson fueled another New York comeback triumph on Wednesday but said the Knicks can’t afford to relax after pulling off a 105-95 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in game one of the NBA Finals. Brunson scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter as the Knicks rallied from a 14-point deficit to post their 12th straight victory after sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semi-finals and finals.
It was the seventh double-digit comeback in the second half of a playoff game by the Knicks over the last two postseasons and their fourth of these playoffs. That includes their rally from 22 points down with less than eight minutes remaining in their opener against Cleveland.
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“I think we know what we have to do,” Brunson said of the Knicks’ ability to dig in when they’re down. “I think we’re a pretty together group and still just continue to fight and have each other’s back and just know that we’re going to keep chipping away, chipping away.” It’s a credit to the mentality we have as a team,” he said.
Teammate Karl-Anthony Towns said it’s a mentality that reflects New York City. “It’s something that’s in the city,” Towns said. “You feel that energy in the city — the grit, the grind, the hard work you’ve got to put in to make it in the city. I think we reflect all our fans and their lifestyles and what it takes to make it in New York City when we step on that court in a Knicks jersey.”
The Knicks, chasing their first title since 1973, are in the Finals for the first time since they fell to San Antonio in 1999. While they managed to snatch a key road win, Brunson said he expects a young Spurs team led by French star Victor Wembanyama to hit back hard. “They come ready to play more than any other team we’ve faced,” he said. “We have the utmost respect for them. We know that we’ve got to be ready for game two. We can’t just be satisfied,” he added after the Knicks leaned on defense to pull out the victory despite a lackluster offensive showing. “We have a lot of things we can do to be better.”
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