In August, Jalen Brunson was at MSG for a ceremony to celebrate his team captaincy.
Bruson spoke that day about the influence of his parents, Rick and Sandra. He talked about the team-friendly extension that he’d signed a few weeks earlier. He also touched on his goals for the coming season.
One of them?
“How we can get past the second round,” he said.
For most of the 2024-25 season, it seemed like the Knicks had no chance to advance beyond Round 2 of the Eastern Conference playoffs. They’d be facing either the Cavs or the Celtics — two teams that beat them soundly in the regular season.
So logic told you that the Knicks’ 2024-25 season would end in the same way the previous two had: a loss in the second round.
Obviously, that logic flew out the window over the past two weeks.
The Knicks reached Brunson’s preseason goal by overcoming 20-point deficits to win Games 1 and 2 on the road. They closed the series on Friday night thanks, in part, to stout team defense.
They are now headed to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years.
Knicks fans were celebrating outside of The Garden — cell phones capturing every moment for social media — after the win.
Inside the building, the Knicks weren’t interested in toasting their success.
“I feel like we have a long way to go,” Brunson said. “Just the confidence we have in each other and everything. Just knowing who we are. We tend to be unsatisfied.”
FILM STUDY
The Knicks certainly weren’t satisfied with how things unfolded in Boston on Wednesday. They had a chance to put the Celtics away in Game 5 and fumbled it away with an unfocused effort.
“The whole day of Game 5, it just wasn’t us,” Brunson said. “And we knew that, we reflected on it, and we came back and we said, ‘We need to be ready, we need to be better.’”
Several players mentioned the film sessions and a meeting between Games 5 and 6 as catalysts for what you saw on Friday.
“We had to talk it out, (figure out) how to communicate better,” Miles McBride said of the message from the meeting. “And I feel like we just went out there with a different type of energy.”
SPARK FROM TOWNS
The energy started with an early lift from Karl-Anthony Towns. After a quiet night in Game 5, Towns was aggressive early against Boston. He and the Knicks took advantage of Boston’s decision to put a smaller defender on Towns. They found Towns in transition and found success in five-out lineups.
“That helped set the tone for the game,” said Tom Thibodeau. “… He got established (offensively), and then the rebounding and his pick-and-roll defense was outstanding. We were able to play off that.”
New York got contributions from all over the roster on Friday. Josh Hart had a triple-double. Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby both had 20-plus points and helped stifle Boston all night. Brunson had 23 points and six assists. New York was plus-seven on the offensive boards and kept Boston in check on the perimeter (the Celtics were 8-for-30 on threes in the first three quarters).
“The way we prepared, the way we talked out there, the way we made it an emphasis to have each other’s back and to continue to cover for each other (was important),” Brunson said. “It’s focused on the defensive side of the ball, and when we’re doing that and offense, we’re flowing.”
They hope to keep flowing into Game 1 of the ECF on Wednesday. The Knicks will have a few days to prepare for the Pacers. Maybe they’ll even take some time to celebrate the win over Boston. But the focus will quickly turn to Indiana.
“There’s more to do,” Bridges said. “We’re not done. We came out there tonight to play hard and handle business, but our season’s not over. We’ve got so much more to do.”
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