SAN ANTONIO, Texas — New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson is staying level-headed even after a rollercoaster Game 4 of the NBA Finals that saw the Knicks make the greatest comeback in championship round history.
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Brunson repeatedly emphasized that the team’s mindset is that their series against the San Antonio Spurs is tied “0-0,” even as New York holds a 3-1 lead — one win away from the franchise’s first NBA title since 1973.
“As a team, you have to hold each other accountable. Whatever’s being said, positive or negative, you can’t really think about or worry about too much,” Brunson told NBC News about staying focused as a trophy comes into sight.
Brunson added, with regard to fans who are expecting a win: “The fans are going to be the fans, but for us, we got to do our jobs.”
Brunson has stayed laser-focused even after an emotional Game 4 win for the Knicks. New York trailed by as many as 29 points before coming all the way back for a 107-106 victory.
Brunson scored 36 points in the win, hitting several clutch shots in the fourth quarter in what was his best Finals performance so far. The Knicks somehow improved to 2-0 this postseason when trailing by 20 or more in the fourth quarter.
“First of all, it’s a position that we really don’t want to be in, but we just keep fighting,” Brunson said of how the team is able to make such big comebacks. “And now we’re going to continue giving it everything we got. Regardless, even if we don’t win Game 4, I feel like the habits that got us back into the game could have carried over into Game 5.
“So it’s all about the habits that we create and we do in situations, but it starts with just the mentality of it, just giving it all, knowing that you can be down 29 and claw all the way back.”
Brunson hasn’t been at his absolute best during the Finals so far. He is averaging 29.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, but his efficiency has lacked, as he’s shooting only 39.6% from the field against a stingy Spurs defense.
Still, his Game 4 heroics have New York primed for its first championship in over 50 years, even though Brunson himself refuses to look ahead.
When asked what the Knicks fans have meant to him if Game 4 was the team’s last game of the season at Madison Square Garden, Brunson said: “Obviously I love our fans, and they mean the world to me and to this organization.
“They deserve it, but I think most importantly, I just think that I just got to do what I’ve done and focus what I got to do, and then I’ll answer your question later.”