LAS VEGAS — There wasn’t champagne popping for the New York Knicks, but there was a sense of accomplishment as they clinched the NBA Cup over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.
The Knicks believe how they won the Cup title mattered more than the actual act of winning, as their come-from-behind 124-113 win could be a harbinger for down the line.
“During the course of the year, you try to find situations to put pressure on your group,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “This is a single-elimination tournament when you get to a certain point. Every game counts. There’s pressure on every game if you expect to be who you think you are.”
If the Knicks will be the team that stands tallest in the Eastern Conference, they know Jalen Brunson is a constant. The Emirates NBA Cup MVP was slightly off but still scored 25 points with eight assists, and he made a point while accepting the award to point out the contributions of reserves who made the win happen: Tyler Kolek, Mitchell Robinson and Jordan Clarkson.
Clarkson, who came into the game shooting just 28% from 3-point range, hit two such shots in a row to pull the Knicks ahead by three — completing a comeback in which they trailed by 10 late in the third quarter.
Robinson, who played just 18 minutes, managed to grab 10 offensive rebounds (15 total) while occupying Victor Wembanyama down low. His rebounds often led to many of the Knicks’ 15 3-point shots.
And the player most financially incentivized to win the $500,000 prize, Kolek, played late minutes and had critical assists as the Knicks held off a Spurs rally in the final three minutes.
“A game like this, an environment like this, you don’t really see around the NBA too often,” Brunson said. “We got to take advantage of the experience that we got here. I mean, those guys will.
“Being down 10 in the third and them kind of controlling the game throughout the game. Us just finding a way. Going on the run in the fourth with the help of our bench, it was big-time.”
It doesn’t quite simulate the NBA playoffs, especially as the Knicks beat teams like Charlotte and Milwaukee during group play. But their last three wins came against true playoff competitors: the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic and Spurs.
Brown himself was somewhat skeptical of the NBA Cup during its inception, but he sees the value in its third year.
“That pressure is manufactured without you as a coach having to try to do it all the time,” Brown said. “When you’re able to have success doing it, it breeds confidence in everybody within the organization.
“That can propel you come the right time when you’re in that environment to be able to handle the pressure because you’ve already been through it.”
