The Knicks take a 2-0 NBA Finals lead back to New York after Friday’s 105-104 Game 2 win at the Spurs swiped both of the series’ first two matchups in San Antonio, setting the stage for a chaotic MSG as Mike Brown‘s team could close out the championship chase on its home court.
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns put the Knicks’ two-game advantage into perspective following New York’s near collapse in which it trailed 104-102 with 57 seconds left and was a Victor Wembanyama shot away from a 1-1 tie.
“Every single day, we try to chip away, trying to be the best team we can be,” said Brunson, who scored the Knicks’ final five points, tying and ultimately taking the one-point lead along the way. “I think our mindset was 0-0, not being up 1-0. Even with what the series is now, next game, mindset has to be 0-0 again. It’s just how it has to be. You can’t be comfortable, you can’t be satisfied with anything. You’ve just got to continue to push forward.”
New York overcame Brunson’s 20 points on 7-of-25 shooting Towns’ 21-point, 13-rebound double-double and play against Wembanyama — the game-high scorer with 29 points — to fend off the Spurs, who trailed 97-83 with six minutes left after OG Anunoby‘s dunk assisted by Towns.
“I have been on the other side where you’re a young team and you’re trying to do a lot to win the game,” Towns said. “I think that, for us, we keep leaning on experience and we keep leaning on the word ‘execution’ and I think we did a good job when we needed to, executing, but we didn’t do as well as we wanted to. So, when we get back to New York, we’ll get back to work, we’ll get back to the gym and try to correct the mistakes we made tonight.”
Monday’s 8:30 p.m. Game 3 at The Garden awaits with the Knicks expecting the Spurs’ best.
“Knowing them, there’s definitely another level,” Brunson said. “We’ve got to be prepared and ready to match it, be ready to play for 48 minutes and, no matter what goes on throughout a game, just having each other’s back, regardless of what’s going on — who’s on a run, who’s not, who’s up, who’s down. Just making sure that we’re playing together for 48 minutes is really important.”
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