Jalen Brunson Says Knicks 'Aren't Afraid to Fail' After NBA Cup Win vs. Wemby, Spurs
After leading the New York Knicks to their first NBA Cup championship, Jalen Brunson praised the coaching staff for their willingness to try things within games to make them successful.
Following the Knicks' 124-113 win over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup final (starts at 8:50 mark), Brunson explained they "aren't afraid to fail" if they see a chance to do something that might give them an advantage.
Brunson was specifically addressing a question about head coach Mike Brown using him in the rotation with Tyler Kolek and Jordan Clarkson at one point against San Antonio.
That trio has only played a total of eight minutes together all season, presumably because their net rating is minus-37.1. But on Tuesday night against a Spurs team that had won nine of their previous 12 games, the group was the main driving force for New York.
All three of them were at least plus-14, with Kolek playing 20 minutes in a game for just the second time in his NBA career. He finished with career-highs in points (14) and rebounds (five), while tying his season-high in assists (five).
Brunson wasn't as efficient as he usually is, shooting 11-of-27 from the field, but he still finished with 25 points and eight assists in 41 minutes. The Knicks star told reporters that the experience they gained from this tournament can pay off later in the year when they hope to be competing for a spot in the NBA Finals:
"A game like this, an environment like this, you don't really see around the NBA too often. 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."
Even though the NBA Cup final doesn't count toward the official record book, the Knicks are living up to all of the hype they had over the summer. They have won six straight games and have climbed within 2.5 games of the Detroit Pistons for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The NBA Cup championship marks the first title of any kind for the Knicks franchise since winning the NBA Finals during the 1972-73 season.
