Jalen Brunson was the best player on the court during his first playoff series with the Knicks, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. Brunson was New York’s top offseason addition, joining the team on a four-year, $104MM contract in free agency. The Knicks were docked a second-round pick in 2025 for early negotiations with Brunson, but it seemed like a small price to pay on Wednesday as he led the franchise to its first series victory since 2013.
“It’s a really cool experience knowing that my dad (Knicks assistant Rick Brunson) played here — he was on that team that got to the Finals (in 1999),” Brunson said. “It’s special. The connection that me and my dad have, everything, all the full circle, it’s really special.”
Brunson had 23 points, four rebounds and four assists in the close-out victory at Cleveland and made big plays to hold off several Cavaliers rallies. He quickly emerged as a team leader after coming to New York and has provided stability at point guard that the team lacked for years.
“He’s a star player,” Josh Hart said. “He showed that last year in the playoffs. He showed that this whole season, and he’s continuing to show it, continuing to prove people wrong, and none of us in that locker room or in that front office or coaching staff is surprised by how he’s playing.”
There’s more on the Knicks:
- The only downside to Wednesday’s victory was Julius Randle reinjuring his left ankle, Friedell adds. Randle didn’t return to the game after limping off in the second quarter, and coach Tom Thibodeau said he will be reevaluated today. Randle, who had struggled with his shot during the series, was back in All-Star form before the injury with 13 points, six assists and four rebounds in 16 minutes
- The Knicks got a lift from Obi Toppin, who replaced Randle after he left the game, per Peter Botte of The New York Post. Toppin scored all 12 of his points in the third quarter and thrilled his teammates with a breakaway windmill dunk. “I feel like my approach is the same every time I enter the game. I feel like I know what I got to do,” Toppin said. “Be aggressive, bring a lot of energy and have fun and definitely play defense. I feel like we all did that today.”
- Mitchell Robinson‘s work on the boards helped the Knicks survive despite shooting just 21.1% in the fourth quarter on Wednesday, states Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Robinson finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds and 18 overall as he continued his domination of Cleveland’s big men. “I’ve said this all along, I think he’s the best offensive rebounder in the league,” Thibodeau said. “Oftentimes, he’s got two bodies on him and they’re making a conscious effort to keep him off the glass. And now his defensive rebounding is coming along also. That rebounding piece is huge. The shot blocking, the rim protection, the pick-and-roll defense, and his offense is starting to come as well.”
I’m a sad Cavs fan, but I can’t really be mad about this Knicks squad. They’ve finally got it going, and have pulled their team out of hell.
Cavs are young and good and they’ll be good for a while. No reason to hang their heads at all.
I agree Cavs will be back. Considering our bench played big. I’m surprised Cavs let go of Love. Knicks are coming together. Growing up really. Cavs and Knicks are the future bro.
Congrats to the many Knicks fans that post here on this website. Nice step in the right direction and maybe more to come in these playoffs this year.
Emphasize the “maybe” because the Heat are next.
I had the Cavs to win this series…
Knicks just had more in them than I expected… Hart has really changed their forunes around post trade…
Losing Randle could be costly tho…
Even as a Cavs fan, I knew they’d struggle. The Knicks have depth. The Cavs have… Dean Wade.
To be fair to the Cavs, the Knicks went through the same things in their first playoff series in a while against Atlanta. Cavs have a good young team, they’ll be fine.
As a Knicks fan, very excited about moving on to the 2nd round for the first time in a decade. The Heat series should be a good one.
And it’s once again the Heat and the Knicks.
Game on!
Both teams were extremely similar, and needed to play the right people in this matchup. The Knicks did that, and Cleveland didnt. This series was always going to be about who got more shooting from their wing shooters, and then also likely the rebound battle, and that was the Knicks. This was also the worst matchup for Cleveland to not have Kevin Love. As I said at the time, Josh Hart was the perfect fit for them, and that’s why I thought they should have gone for him multiple times previously, and he was of significant importance in that first round and is just as important against the Heat moving forward, as I worry about Randle, Grimes, and Hart in that matchup, especially while half the team is playing through significant injury/are already out
Cavs will be back with a vengeance next year…congrats Knicks.
Randle…get that gambling stuff sorted out mane. Mafia is no joke
CLE is as well situated as any NBA team to contend for the championship over the next 5 years. They have what most rebuilding teams would kill for (star talents, young and prime age, in place and controllable) as they begin to ascend. That’s generally considered the harder part. But getting there did deplete their rebuild assets to the point that finishing their rebuild will need to be done with more limited resources than optimal. This off season and next are key for them. They need to focus on getting this roster to the point of being an EC championship contender. They can’t waste time and energy sitting around obsessing about what went wrong against the Knicks.