Jalen Brunson had the final answer on the floor, then another one at the podium.
After scoring 45 points in the New York Knicks’ 94-90 Game 5 clincher over the San Antonio Spurs, Brunson said the night still felt hard to process. “Words can’t describe it,” he said. “I put a lot of time and effort into trying to be the best player I can be to try and help a team win. Just really thankful I have the organization, the coaching staff, my teammates to have my back every single day. I think that means the most to me. And my family.”
The emotion hit him as soon as the final buzzer sounded. “I was good,” Brunson said. “The final buzzer, I walked right to half court, shook Mitch Johnson’s hand. And then I turned around, my dad was right there, and felt emotional from that point on. And then I just remember Josh talking into my ear and him just saying, like, we did it, we did it.” He said he stayed emotional for “a good, like, five, 10 minutes,” before the excitement took over.
Brunson’s performance was the kind that forces belief. He said the title was “very possible” when he made the decision that gave the franchise cap flexibility and a path forward, but he added, “it was only a small portion of it.” The bigger ingredient, in his view, was shared buy-in. “I think everyone buying in, coming together, having the mindset of just believing in each other, never giving up, no matter what the situation was, made this all possible,” he said.
When asked what separated this group from others, Brunson kept coming back to the same idea. “Honestly, tonight we played like we won the go home champions,” he said. “To finish the game, not to start the game. To finish the game, yeah.” He added, “It means the world to me to go on that court with those guys. Whatever environment we’re in, home or away, doesn’t matter for us.”
Asked about taking over the game offensively, Brunson didn’t dress it up. “Everything,” he said. “I was just trying to go out there, just will us to win. Wasn’t focused on anything else besides trying to win the game. Getting stops, getting out and running, just figuring out how to cut that lead or gain it when we got it. Really exciting moment, knowing that we just won’t give up.”
He also addressed the physical punishment of the series. “I’m hurting right now,” he said when asked about playing through contact. “I’m hurting right now, but like I said before, the opportunity to present itself. Whatever you got to do.”
One of Brunson’s most revealing answers came when he was asked about pressure and expectations. “No pressure. No pressure whatsoever,” he said. “My dad being on eight or nine unguaranteed contracts throughout his career and not knowing when you’re going to get cut… That’s pressure.” He added, “I’m very fortunate to be in the position I am,” and, “I’m just never afraid to fail.”
The final word went to the question about people who still doubt his place among the league’s best. Brunson didn’t hesitate. “I didn’t respond to them then, I’m damn sure not going to respond to them now.”
