Jalen Brunson didn’t have his best scoring night on Tuesday, but it didn’t matter.
The Knicks received contributions from up-and-down their bench as they pulled out a thrilling victory over the San Antonio Spurs to secure their first NBA Cup title.
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Brunson was named the tournament MVP, but he was sure to tip his cap to his teammates afterwards.
“Without them, we don’t hold that trophy,” he said.
It starts with OG Anunoby, who led the way offensively with a game-high 28 points.
Anunoby also continued his stellar all-around play on the other end of the floor, reeling in nine rebounds and earning himself Defensive Player of the Game honors.
“The way he’s shooting the ball is fantastic,” Brunson said. He’s making plays and he has confidence — when everyone is working on their game even in-season that confidence stays, so it’s a credit to him and what he’s been doing.”
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It wasn’t just Anunoby, though, as big man Mitchell Robinson also stepped up with 18 outstanding minutes off the bench while Karl-Anthony Towns battled through some bruises.
Robinson set an NBA Cup Final record with 10 offensive boards, and reeled in 15 in total.
“That’s what Mitch does,” Towns said. “I knew playing against him just how much he impacts the game, to be his teammate now and to see what he does, he’s impacted the game how many times — shoutout to Mitch, hell of a day at the office.”
Jordan Clarkson had another strong scoring night with 15 big points off the bench, but it was youngster Tyler Kolek who took advantage of the opportunity the most and truly shined on the biggest stage.
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Kolek was leaned on heavily down the stretch and he finished with 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, and turned the ball over just once over his 20 minutes of action.
It was arguably one of his most impressive at the NBA-level.
“He played big-time, I’m very happy for him,” Brunson said. “It may be a surprise to a bunch of people, but many of you see how hard this kid works and I’m just very happy for him. The way he played tonight helped us for sure, we needed him.”
The hope is that this success in big minutes can help the rest of the way in the regular season.
“In a game like this where it’s basically win or go home,” the captain said. “You have guys who step up and pick up the slack for a person like me who wasn’t shooting the ball well and made a terrible second-half turnover with the back-court.
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“It’s when those guys come in and do that, that gives us even more confidence. That excites me more than anything, the guys who come in and do that, it gives us an opportunity to win, it’s just a great feeling.”
