The New York Knicks, currently holding a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals after two instant classics against San Antonio, are bracing for a fierce response as the series shifts to New York for Game 3 on Monday.
Following a narrow 105-104 victory on Friday, Knicks star Jalen Brunson emphasized the need for constant improvement and discipline. “Every single day we chip away and try to be the best that we can be,” Brunson stated.
Historically, the Knicks are in an elite position. They are only the third team in NBA history—joining Michael Jordan’s 1993 Chicago Bulls and the 1995 Houston Rockets—to win the first two games of the Finals on the road. Notably, both previous teams went on to win the championship.
Despite the electric atmosphere and mounting excitement in New York City, Brunson remains grounded. “Even with the series the way it is now, next game, mindset has to be 0-0 again,” he said. “You can’t be comfortable. You can’t be satisfied with anything. Just got to continue to push forward.”
The Knicks are currently on a 13-game playoff winning streak, the second-longest in post-season history, as they chase their first championship since 1973. While fans have flooded both the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio and the streets of New York, the celebrations have not been without incident; authorities reported 26 arrests and the assault of a police officer during a Game 2 watch party outside Madison Square Garden.
While the New York faithful are dreaming of a title, the team remains focused on the threat posed by the Spurs and their 22-year-old French phenom, Victor Wembanyama. Although the Spurs’ youth was evident in the first two games, the team entered the Finals with the league’s second-best regular-season record after a grueling seven-game Western Conference Finals victory over the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Knowing them, there’s going to be another level,” Brunson noted. “We have to be prepared and be ready to match it and play for 48 minutes.”
The Spurs remain undeterred by the deficit. San Antonio guard Stephon Castle acknowledged the difficulty of the situation but expressed confidence in the team’s resilience. “It was going to take everything to win the series anyway,” Castle said. “Putting ourselves in this type of predicament is going to be tough, but I don’t think it’s anything we can’t handle.”