|
|
|
|
Printable Page
05/24 17:10 CDT Streaking Knicks focused on Game 4 and not being on verge of
reaching the NBA Finals
Streaking Knicks focused on Game 4 and not being on verge of reaching the NBA
Finals
By JOE REEDY
AP Sports Writer
CLEVELAND (AP) --- Jalen Brunson isn't looking in the rearview mirror at the
New York Knicks' 10-game winning streak while the possibility of reaching the
NBA Finals is still in the horizon, even though it is one win away.
Brunson's focus, along with the rest of his teammates, is what happens in the
first 12 minutes of Monday night's Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals
against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"So you have the first possession, the first quarter, and then you have the end
of the first half and you go on," Brunson said after Saturday night's 121-108
victory. "You just continue to just deal with what's in front of you and just
have your teammates' back. Make sure everyone's on the same page, making sure
that everyone's holding each other accountable. That's just the most important
thing right now."
The blinders approach has New York on a 10-game winning streak with an average
margin of victory of 22.5 points and one victory away from its first finals
appearance since 1999.
No team in NBA history has blown a 3-0 lead, and the Knicks aren't showing any
signs of being the first in 164 series.
Just when everyone thinks the Knicks are peaking, they find a way to find
another gear. Forward OG Anunoby, who missed the last two games of the
Philadelphia series due to a strained right hamstring, had 21 points, seven
rebounds and four assists in Saturday night's victory.
Anunoby is second on the team in scoring during the winning streak, averaging
19.8 points in eight games.
Brunson is averaging 29 points in the series and 27.8 in the postseason while
Karl-Anthony Downs is averaging a double-double with 16.8 points and 10.3
rebounds, along with 6.1 assists.
Brunson said the next-man-up mentality has displayed itself throughout the
series.
"We have a bunch of individuals in that we locker room who work really hard and
they're very psychotic about their work and the things they do, and making sure
that they're ready physically and mentally so when their number's called and
then when there's time to go out there, they're ready," Brunson said. "We have
a lot of real professionals on our roster."
The Knicks have had the momentum in the series since rallying from a 22-point
deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Cavaliers 115-104 in Game 1. Towns
noted though the Knicks still have the mentality that it is the opening tip of
the first game.
"We've got to come out with that same desperation as Game 1. What got us here
as a team, we've won all these games in a row as a team, we've had this winning
streak as a team. As long as we stay together, we stay unified, we always have
felt that the sky's the limit for us," he said.
Cleveland will be playing its 14th game since April 29, while New York will be
playing its ninth.
The Cavaliers are shooting only 29.4% from 3-point range and are 50 of 74 from
the foul line. Donovan Mitchell is averaging 26 points in the series, but has
appeared not to have the same burst he had in previous rounds.
Coach Kenny Atkinson is hoping his team can find something in the tank to avoid
a sweep, but knows his team is winded after enduring a pair of seven-game
series against Toronto and Detroit to get to their first Eastern Conference
final in eight years.
"I said it before this series, the rest disadvantage is real. It's massive,
right? And it plays into it. I don't think anybody has a grip on what that
really means saying, ?Well why are you shooting so below expected? Is that a
part of it?' I don't know. I don't have that answer," he said.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
|
| Copyright DTN. All rights reserved. Disclaimer. |
|
