THE KNICKS HAVE WON A TROPHY!
Last night, the Knicks took on the up-and-coming Spurs in the championship game of the third annual NBA Cup Tournament in Las Vegas, and walked away with hardware.
Sure, not the one that everyone who bleeds orange and blue wants to hold, but you still can't stop me from celebrating!
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| (via @nyknicks on Instagram) |
After carrying the Knicks to the title game while averaging 33 points per Cup game, Jalen Brunson started slow against the elite defense of Stephon Castle. While Brunson didn’t dominate the scoreboard the way he had earlier in the tournament, he still finished with 25 points and made the shots that mattered most in the fourth quarter.
With that said, this game was ultimately won by New York’s bench. Brunson summed it up perfectly in his postgame interview, "OG Anunoby, Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson, Mitchell Robinson, they played their ass off. Without them, we don’t win this sh*t.”
And yeah, he's absolutely right.
Down 10 in the third, it looked like the game had gotten away from NY. With Mikal Bridges struggling with shooting and Karl Anthony-Towns dealing with a calf injury, head coach Mike Brown put trust in his bench unit to keep them in the game. And they didn’t just keep them in it, but won it for them.
Second-year point guard, Tyler Kolek, had what was by far the best game of his career, dishing out five assists, grabbing five boards, and scoring a career high 14 points in big minutes down the stretch. While Clarkson had 15 points off the bench and hit three massive threes to extend the Knicks' lead.
Mitch Robinson proved he is the best offensive rebounder in the league, making Victor Wembanyama look inept, and snagging 10 boards on the offensive end over the Spurs’ 7′4″ star center. And OG, oh my sweet OG. He was on fire from the jump, applying pressure to San Antonio all night long. His stout defense stood out as usual, but when he's able to get his jumpshot going like that, he's borderline unstoppable.
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| (image via nba.com/knicks) |
This was a true team victory, and I think this win showed not just the fans that the Knicks can win big games, but they also proved it to themselves. The team chemistry is off the charts right now, from the top of the roster to the bottom everything just seems to be clicking. If the Knicks can ride this high for as long as they can, they have a real shot at something special.
Performances like this, with the bench stepping up and stars coming through in the clutch, are exactly what it takes to win in the NBA. Wins like these do not just earn trophies; they build belief in the locker room.
Does that mean I think this means the Knicks are a lock to win the NBA Finals? No.
I and fellow Knicks fans who woke up smiling today should be happy, but also need to be realistic. Both previous winners of the NBA Cup were bounced in the first round of the playoffs that same year, so while it is important, it doesn't mean we are the league's best, not yet anyway.
Brunson said it perfectly before this tournament even started: saying that winning the Cup is a "stepping stone" to something even bigger.
Therefore, enjoy the Cup while you can, Knicks fans, because the real story is only just beginning.
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