{"id":38800,"date":"2025-05-17T07:26:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T07:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/38800\/"},"modified":"2025-05-17T07:26:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T07:26:11","slug":"knicks-reach-one-of-jalen-brunsons-preseason-goals-but-remain-unsatisfied-entering-eastern-conference-finals-with-pacers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/38800\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks reach one of Jalen Brunson’s preseason goals but remain ‘unsatisfied’ entering Eastern Conference Finals with Pacers"},"content":{"rendered":"

In August, Jalen Brunson<\/a> was at MSG for a ceremony to celebrate his team captaincy.<\/p>\n

Bruson spoke that day about the influence of his parents, Rick and Sandra. He talked about the team-friendly extension that he\u2019d signed a few weeks earlier. He also touched on his goals for the coming season.<\/p>\n

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One of them?<\/p>\n

\u201cHow we can get past the second round,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For most of the 2024-25 season, it seemed like the Knicks<\/a> had no chance to advance beyond Round 2 of the Eastern Conference playoffs. They\u2019d be facing either the Cavs or the Celtics — two teams that beat them soundly in the regular season.<\/p>\n

So logic told you that the Knicks\u2019 2024-25 season would end in the same way the previous two had: a loss in the second round.<\/p>\n

Obviously, that logic flew out the window over the past two weeks.<\/p>\n

The Knicks reached Brunson\u2019s preseason goal by overcoming 20-point deficits to win Games 1 and 2 on the road. They closed the series on Friday night<\/a> thanks, in part, to stout team defense.<\/p>\n

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They are now headed to the Eastern Conference Finals<\/a> for the first time in 25 years.<\/p>\n

Knicks fans were celebrating outside of The Garden — cell phones capturing every moment for social media — after the win.<\/p>\n

Inside the building, the Knicks weren\u2019t interested in toasting their success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we have a long way to go,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cJust the confidence we have in each other and everything. Just knowing who we are.\u00a0We tend to be unsatisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"May<\/p>\n

May 16, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) controls the ball against Boston Celtics forward Torrey Craig (12) during the fourth quarter of game six in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images \/ \u00a9 Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

FILM STUDY<\/p>\n

The Knicks certainly weren\u2019t satisfied with how things unfolded in Boston on Wednesday. They had a chance to put the Celtics away in Game 5 and fumbled it away with an unfocused effort.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe whole day of Game 5, it just wasn\u2019t us,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cAnd we knew that, we reflected on it, and we came back and we said, \u2018We need to be ready, we need to be better.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Several players mentioned the film sessions and a meeting between Games 5 and 6 as catalysts for what you saw on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to talk it out, (figure out) how to communicate better,\u201d Miles McBride<\/a> said of the message from the meeting. \u201cAnd I feel like we just went out there with a different type of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"May<\/p>\n

May 16, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) celebrates his three point shot against the Boston Celtics during the first quarter of game six in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images \/ \u00a9 Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

SPARK FROM TOWNS<\/p>\n

The energy started with an early lift from Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a>. After a quiet night in Game 5, Towns was aggressive early against Boston. He and the Knicks took advantage of Boston\u2019s decision to put a smaller defender on Towns. They found Towns in transition and found success in five-out lineups.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat helped set the tone for the game,\u201d said Tom Thibodeau<\/a>. \u201c\u2026 He got established (offensively), and then the rebounding and his pick-and-roll defense was outstanding. We were able to play off that.\u201d<\/p>\n

New York got contributions from all over the roster on Friday. Josh Hart<\/a> had a triple-double. Mikal Bridges<\/a> and OG Anunoby<\/a> both had 20-plus points and helped stifle Boston all night. Brunson had 23 points and six assists. New York was plus-seven on the offensive boards and kept Boston in check on the perimeter (the Celtics were 8-for-30 on threes in the first three quarters).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way we prepared, the way we talked out there, the way we made it an emphasis to have each other\u2019s back and to continue to cover for each other (was important),\u201d Brunson said. \u201cIt\u2019s focused on the defensive side of the ball, and when we\u2019re doing that and offense, we\u2019re flowing.\u201d<\/p>\n

They hope to keep flowing into Game 1 of the ECF on Wednesday. The Knicks will have a few days to prepare for the Pacers. Maybe they\u2019ll even take some time to celebrate the win over Boston. But the focus will quickly turn to Indiana.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s more to do,\u201d Bridges said. \u201cWe\u2019re not done. We came out there tonight to play hard and handle business, but our season\u2019s not over. We\u2019ve got so much more to do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In August, Jalen Brunson was at MSG for a ceremony to celebrate his team captaincy. Bruson spoke that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38801,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,136,46,113,288,327,563,304,1260,2715,6,11,1136,741,114,4993],"class_list":{"0":"post-38800","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cavs","10":"tag-celtics","11":"tag-indiana","12":"tag-jalen-brunson","13":"tag-josh-hart","14":"tag-karl-anthony-towns","15":"tag-knicks","16":"tag-mikal-bridges","17":"tag-miles-mcbride","18":"tag-nba","19":"tag-nba-playoffs","20":"tag-new-york","21":"tag-og-anunoby","22":"tag-pacers","23":"tag-torrey-craig"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114521989641733492","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}