It has been a remarkable season for the Knicks.
Through a season ending shoulder injury to their two-time All-NBA power forward Julius Randle, which occurred on January 27, not only did they persevere, the Knicks excelled. Their regular season schedule culminated on Sunday at Madison Square Garden fittingly with a dramatic and hard-fought 120-119 overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls to secure an unlikely No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. It also produced the 50-32 Knicks’ first 50-plus win season since they went 54-28 in the 2012-13 campaign.
“It’s a goal to be the best team we can be by the end of the year, and for us now it’s just move on from that,” said the Knicks’ uncontainable point guard Jalen Brunson, whose 40-point, 7-assists, 8-rebound display of indomitable will was a microcosm of the 27-year-point guard’s astonishing season.
“It’s something to be crossed off and have to get better from here.” Brunson’s 11 th 40-point game this season tied Patrick Ewing for the second most in a single season in franchise history. Bernard King reached or exceeded the 40-point mark 13 times in the 1984-85 slate. Brunson, in only his second season with the Knicks, also reached 36 games scoring 30 or more, tying Richie Guerin (1961-62) and Ewing (1989-90) for the franchise record. His 28.7 points per game average was fourth overall in the league.
“I got teammates and coaches in this locker room who trust me and I trust them and we all try to go out there and make the right play every single time,” expressed Brunson. “No matter what’s going on out there, no one really cares about the credit or anything. We’re just trying to win and so we do whatever it takes, and I have their back out there.”
Now Tom Thibodeau will lead his team into the playoffs for the third time in four seasons since becoming the Knicks’ head coach in July of 2020. Their first round opponent, either the Philadelphia 76ers or Miami Heat, was determined last night when they faced each other last night in Philadelphia in an NBA Play-In Tournament matchup. The Knicks were 2-1 against Miami this season and 3-1 versus the 76ers.
They open the playoffs at the Garden for Game 1 this Saturday at 6 p.m. and a 7:30 p.m. start on Monday at MSG for Game 2.
“I think when you have competitors, it doesn’t matter. Competitors compete,” Thibodeau said of which team the Knicks will meet.
Brunson emphasized the Knicks’ approach will be consistent with how they have carried out their business thus far. “Making sure our mentality is the same, if not, better,” he pointed out. “Making sure we’re getting right and making sure we’re watching and preparing, getting our minds right. And that’s what is most important.”