Entering Wednesday’s matchup against the Miami Heat, the New York Knicks trail in the series 3-1 with the next loss resulting in NBA playoff elimination.
Despite the stakes, Jalen Brunson has continued to stress the importance of the team sticking together and trusting the work they’ve put in together throughout the season. Coming off a 109-101 loss in Game 4, the floor general wants to see how his squad responds.
“Definitely. You can’t shy away from the moment,” Brunson said on Wednesday. “You have to go out there and attack it.
“It’s OK to be nervous, it’s OK to be anxious. But when you go out on the court you just gotta give it your all. There’s no such thing as pressure or things like that. We’ve worked all season, players in the league have worked their entire lives to get to moments like these. So it’s how we respond, how we stick together and just trust yourself, trust what you’ve worked on. And go out there and give it everything you got.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks & Miami Heat Updates
With the Heat punishing the Knicks on the offensive glass, Brunson acknowledged the need for New York to come out and sustain a much greater effort defensively in Game 5. He went as far as to say that Miami has “dominated” them in that respect the last few games — building off Julius Randle’s post-game remark about the opposition perhaps wanting it more.
“They have been a team who’s dominated us the past couple of games on the defensive…the rebounding side of the ball,” Brunson replied. “For us, we just need to be better and I think we have a chance tonight to kind of get back on track, whether it starts with one quarter, one half and then one game at a time.
“I mean, it’s an elimination game. So obviously you lose, we’re done. So I don’t think there’s any added, extra motivation that needs to be said. We each gotta go out there and we gotta do what we gotta do.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks & Miami Heat Updates
The Knicks have squared off against an experienced Heat team with plenty of team members remaining from their 2020 NBA Finals appearance. New York has faced a much more experienced opponent than the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first-round of this year’s playoffs.
“It’s definitely different and obviously, the more you do it, the more you understand, the more you learn,” Brunson added Wednesday. “I just think for us, it’s all about how we compete, how we fight. Just gotta stay resilient and stay poised. Like I said, it’s a game of runs, things are gonna happen that aren’t gonna go your way. It’s how do you keep your composure and fight back?
“We have to keep our confidence and stick together and keep moving forward. That’s all we have to focus on.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks & Miami Heat Updates
With how the Heat has played, Brunson feels they deserve credit. However, he stressed the importance of the Knicks coming out in Game 5 with a sharp focus and sustaining it throughout the game instead of looking ahead to a Game 6 or Game 7 that may not come without a win first.
“It’s a credit to Miami. You have to give them credit. It’s definitely a hole you have to dig yourself out of,” Brunson said. “You can’t really focus on Game 6 and [Game] 7. You have to concentrate on the first quarter of Game 5 and move on from there and continue to get better, and continue to compete together.”
Grant Afseth is an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network and a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI’s Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).
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