The New York Knicks showed they have the depth and mental fortitude to win under pressure by coming back from a 10-point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs and lift the NBA Cup.
Led inevitably by Jalen Brunson, it was a team largely made up of reserves – Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson – that inspired the Knicks to a dominant final quarter and a 124-113 triumph.
Not only does it inspire confidence for the rest of the regular season but it also shows the Knicks can get the job done when it counts – a useful skill to have in the postseason.
“During the course of the year, you try to find situations to put pressure on your group,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “This is a single-elimination tournament when you get to a certain point. Every game counts. There’s pressure on every game if you expect to be who you think you are.
“That pressure is manufactured without you as a coach having to try to do it all the time. When you’re able to have success doing it, it breeds confidence in everybody within the organization.
“That can propel you come the right time when you’re in that environment to be able to handle the pressure because you’ve already been through it.”
Knicks star Brunson hails bench depth
Although not at his sparking best, Brunson still scored 25 points and added eight assists but was quick to point out the contribution from the bench.
“OG Anunoby, Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson, Mitchell Robinson, they played their ass off tonight,” said Brunson, named the NBA Cup MVP. “Without them, we don’t win this s__t.
“We’re gonna find a way. We’re gonna fight. We’re not gonna quit. We’re gonna go out there and do what we gotta do. When we fail in those moments, we tip our hats and we respect the other team and we move forward.
“But we’re not gonna quit, we’re not gonna lay down. We’re gonna find a way. The game may be ugly. How are we gonna impact the game? Our bench did that tonight, they impacted the game for us.”
Spurs have plenty to take away from Vegas – coach Johnson
While it ended in disappointment for the Spurs, they will leave Las Vegas with plenty of positives to focus on as they continue to grow as a team.
Now with a fully fit roster, coach Mitch Johnson was happy with how his players performed.
“[It was our] second game all together [as a team],” Johnson said, “playing really competitive games against really good teams – seasoned, experienced teams that have been in similar situations.”
“Just some really good experiences. You’ve got to execute and you’ve got to make sure when there is a moment where the game feels like it’s getting away from you, that’s when you sometimes need to make a stand. Sometimes that’s a fundamental play that has nothing to do with directly involving the basketball.”
