Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Hart, Alvarado, Towns
Even after erasing a 29-point deficit against the Spurs on Wednesday, the Knicks were one possession away from their historic comeback effort falling short, having given up their lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter of Game 4. However, OG Anunoby sealed the victory with an incredible tip-in off a missed Jalen Brunson three-pointer with just 1.2 seconds left in the game, giving the Knicks a 107-106 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I don’t know if there was a play bigger than any other play in the history of Knicks basketball,” head coach Mike Brown said of Anunoby’s basket, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “… That has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball. I’m not you guys. You guys know better than me. But it was just unbelievable.”
Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required) agrees with Brown’s assessment, writing that – as long as the Knicks can win one more game over San Antonio and secure a title – Anunoby’s tip-in will go down as one of the most iconic plays in all of New York sports, along with memorable moments like David Tyree’s “helmet catch” or Derek Jeter’s “flip.” As Bondy writes, Karl-Anthony Towns referred to it after the game as the “right hand of God.”
As Kurt Helin of NBC Sports details, Anunoby’s series-changing play, the highlight of huge 33-point performance, was influenced in part by Brown having encouraged him to be a “monster on the offensive glass” in Game 4.
“(Brown) told me I need to get on the glass, offensive glass, especially, and just use my ability, size, strength, athleticism, to make an impact on the offensive glass,” Anunoby said. “And it happened at the end.”
We have more on the Knicks, who will take a 3-1 series lead back to San Antonio for Saturday’s Game 5 after completing the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history:
- Josh Hart missed an open breakaway layup with less than two minutes left and the Knicks down by one point, then let Stephon Castle get behind him on defense a few possessions later and was forced to foul the Spurs guard, who gave San Antonio a temporary lead by making both free throws. Hart was relieved after the game not to have to relive those moments over and over, as Zach Braziller of The New York Post relays. “I’ve got a special shout-out for OG, man, because he saved me, at least for this game, a lifetime of regret,” Hart said.
- The Knicks’ reserves weren’t very effective on Wednesday, combining to score just four points through the first three quarters. But New York native Jose Alvarado changed that in the fourth quarter, when he scored eight points on 3-of-3 shooting and was a +17 in nearly 10 minutes of action as the team mounted its furious comeback. Towns said Alvarado’s performance was a reminder that he’s a “big-time player,” while Landry Shamet said the game changed when Alvarado checked in, according to Howie Kussoy of The New York Post. “That’s when things really started to shift,” Shamet said. “He’s a spark. The energy he brings for us … he was ready to go and stepped in and made some huge plays for us.”
- Towns got into early foul trouble and was forced to sit most of the first quarter, but he further cemented his place in Knicks lore by bouncing back to register a double-double (13 points and 10 rebounds) and tipping Dylan Harper‘s inbounds pass on the final possession of the game, preventing the Spurs from getting a clean look at a potential game-winner, writes Fiifi Frimpong of The New York Daily News (subscription required).
NBA Finals Notes: K. Johnson, Wembanyama, LeBron, Ratings
One of the overlooked reasons for the Spurs‘ victory in Game 3 was the job that forward Keldon Johnson did defensively against Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News writes in a subscriber-only piece. Despite being six inches shorter and 28 pounds lighter, Johnson was able to use his physicality to throw Towns off his game.
“I just tried to make it tough for him,” Johnson said. “He’s a really good player. He’s been playing at a really high level throughout the series, so I just tried to make it tough on him, make his catches tough, try to make him uncomfortable, just doing whatever I can to make him have a tough night.”
Towns was limited to 11 points on Monday after scoring 18 and 21 in the first two games of the series. Johnson, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, posted a team-best plus-14 rating in 17 minutes of action.
“He’ll do whatever the coaching staff asks him to do, bringing his energy and physicality (to the assignment),” San Antonio center Luke Kornet said of Johnson. “His versatility is important for us.”
There’s more on the NBA Finals:
- Before leading the Spurs to a pivotal win, Victor Wembanyama relaxed on Sunday with a trip to Gramercy Park, one of New York City’s quietest and most exclusive attractions, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Wembanyama and his sister spent the afternoon sketching, admiring the statues and watching a Shakespearian presentation, helping him clear his mind for the challenge ahead. “Really tried to relax. The Playoffs, it’s like a — I don’t know how to say that word — a whirlwind. It’s hard to put your head out of the water,” Wembanyama said after Game 3. “Sometimes, I don’t even got to watch the game back right away. I need some time off, let my brain cool down, recover. Recover as much for the body as for the mind.”
- LeBron James suggests that the Knicks’ two road wins to open the series were the result of a lack of attractions in San Antonio that interest NBA players, relays Ryan Anderson of The New York Post. “I mean, San Antonio, we focus on basketball,” James said on his Mind the Game podcast (YouTube link). “You ain’t doing s–t in San Antonio. Nothing at all. Nothing. And I mean nothing.”
- Monday’s contest drew the highest television rating for the NBA Finals since the 1998 Finals between the Bulls and Jazz, the league announced (Twitter link). The game averaged 23.8 million viewers on ABC and ESPN, peaking with 26.3 million at 11:15 pm Eastern Time.
Northwest Notes: Presti, Nuggets, Towns, Wolves
While Thunder general manager Sam Presti covered a wide range of topics in his end-of-season exit interview, he spent more time defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander than he did on any other subject, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, who notes that Presti strongly pushed back on the notion – pushed in some corners of social media – that flopping and grifting are crucial to his star player’s success.
“Relative to Shai and the narrative on that, he’s playing against six people,” Presti said. “He’s got five defenders, and the sixth defender is social media.”
Presti also took issue with how coaches used their post-game media availability to try to influence referees and push narratives.
“The post-game press conference has turned into the bully pulpit to create competitive advantage,” he said. “It used to be you’d get up there, you’d talk about your own team. Now everyone gets up there and they talk about the officials and they discredit the other team.”
We have more from around the Northwest Division:
- The Nuggets have struggled to maintain their Western Conference dominance since winning the championship in 2023. They haven’t made it back to the conference finals, and injuries have been a recurring issue. At a certain point, the health problems constantly holding the team back become more than just bad luck, Mark Kiszla of the Denver Gazette argues, citing Robert Weissfeld, a medical researcher who focuses on injury recovery and kinesiology. “Following trauma, which includes injury, pain and other kinds of stress, some muscles become chronically weak, perhaps as a way to protect the (affected) area from further stress,” Weissfeld said. “The problem is not in the muscles themselves, which are generally healthy. The deficit is the signals reaching the muscles from the brain. Like turning on a light with its dimmer switch set too low, the muscles receive insufficient current to activate them normally.” Weissfeld believes that correcting muscle function could help oft-injured players like Aaron Gordon get back on solid ground.
- As Karl-Anthony Towns has helped lead the Knicks to a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals, it’s fair to wonder if the Timberwolves made a mistake trading the talented big man, Chris Hine writes for the Star Tribune. The goal of the deal was to maximize the team’s flexibility around cornerstone Anthony Edwards on an increasingly expensive roster following the trade for Rudy Gobert. If they hadn’t moved Towns, Naz Reid would likely no longer be on the roster, Hine says. However, Towns has also shown his value against a player like Victor Wembanyama, whose Spurs appear to have overtaken the Wolves in the Western Conference’s pecking order. Hine concludes that the Gobert trade is likely the move most responsible for Towns’ eventual departure, and he remains unconvinced that ownership would have paid the luxury bills required to keep the frontcourt duo together alongside Edwards.
- The Timberwolves recently unveiled their new uniforms and courts for the 2026/27 season. The choices made reflect a decision from new owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore to pay fan service and give Minnesotans the nostalgia they had been clamoring for, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “The team is the fans’ team,” Rodriguez said. “This is what the fans wanted.” The uniforms pay tribute to the heyday of Kevin Garnett’s time with the team, an aesthetic that is now considered iconic to the franchise. “We were very thoughtful and diligent throughout the entire process to make sure that we did hit those marks and it was representative of the past, but really drove something new toward the future,” said chief marketing officer Mike Grahl.
Knicks Notes: Towns, Brunson, Anunoby, Alvarado
Following the Knicks‘ Game 3 loss to the Spurs, Karl-Anthony Towns‘s lack of fourth-quarter offense has become a topic of concern. Towns has yet to score in a fourth quarter this series, despite playing some of the best basketball of his career and being the best player on the floor for large stretches of the series so far.
It’s a trend that head coach Mike Brown is aware of and one that he’s not happy about, according to ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill.
“It’s extremely important that he’s getting touches, that he’s involved, not just in the fourth quarter, but obviously throughout the ballgame,” Brown said. “I got to continue trying to do a better job of getting him involved throughout the course of the game, as well as late.”
The Knicks went to Towns less frequently in Game 3, and the offense seemed to struggle as a result, a trend that three-time champion Danny Green broke down for ESPN (Twitter video link). Green noted that, unlike in previous games, Towns didn’t punish mismatches by taking smaller players into the post, and instead seemed to float at times.
While Victor Wembanyama‘s presence makes it more challenging, Green believes Towns needs to be more proactive and aggressive than he showed on Monday.
We have more Knicks notes:
- Jalen Brunson has been the Knicks’ best player for multiple years, but he has struggled this series against the Spurs’ defense, shooting just 37.0% from the field and accumulating the same number of turnovers and assists (13). While the Knicks have weathered his cold shooting spell and still hold a 2-1 series lead, the most concerning stat is that the team is being outscored by 13 points in the 110 minutes Brunson has been on the floor, Dylan Svoboda writes for the New York Post. New York’s offense has at times seemed to flow better when Brunson is not on the floor, as they rely more on quick ball movement and shot-making and less on isolation play against the Spurs’ length and aggression. Despite his struggles, Brunson has scored at least 30 points in two of the three games, but most of his best moments have come in brief fourth-quarter stretches, such as the end of Game 1.
- Aside from Brunson, OG Anunoby was the only other consistent source of offense in Game 3, scoring 28 points on 13 shots. He has been effective at scoring with Wembanyama in his face, whether on face-up three-pointers or drives to the rim. “I’m aggressive no matter who’s guarding me,” Anunoby told NBA Insider Chris Haynes (Twitter video link). “I’m always looking to make the right play, whether it’s the pass, drive to the rim, the shot, just being aggressive at all times no matter who’s guarding me.”
- If there’s any player on the roster that puts the ‘New York’ in the ‘New York Knicks,’ it’s Brooklyn native Jose Alvarado, writes Jeanette Settembre for the Post. “Everything about him screams New York. He’s a lovable kid,” said high school coach Joe Arbitello. “He comes back [to Christ the King High School] a lot. I don’t think he understands he’s a celebrity celebrity.” Settembre also spoke to Alvarado’s youth league coach, Dan Klores, whom the guard turned to when he thought his NBA dream was out of reach. “He comes to me and says, ‘Dan, can you connect me to a trainer? Because I’m not going to make the NBA,'” Klores said, adding that once the Pelicans offered Alvarado a spot, “(He) broke down in tears. He couldn’t stop crying.”
Knicks Notes: Bridges, Towns, Shamet, Clarkson
Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby, who combined for 60 of the Knicks‘ 111 points in Monday’s Game 3, were the team’s only reliable scorers in the fourth quarter, tallying 18 points between them on 6-of-11 shooting in the final frame. The rest of the team made just 1-of-16 shots and scored two points en route to a 115-111 loss, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Post writes.
It was an especially frustrating night for Mikal Bridges, who has had an excellent postseason but scored just two points on 1-of-5 shooting in 29 minutes of action on Monday and went 0-for-3 from the floor in the fourth quarter. Bridges wasn’t happy with his play at either end of the court, telling reporters after the game that he’s “gotta be better” on Wednesday, according to Howie Kussoy of The New York Post.
“It starts with me defensively. I think I did a bad job defensively,” Bridges said. “They scored a good amount of times when I was in throughout the game. For me, it starts with defense and feeding off of that.”
We have more on the Knicks, who will take a 2-1 series lead into Game 4:
- Karl-Anthony Towns earned rave reviews for his play at both ends of the court in the first two games of the NBA Finals, but he was “mostly a non-factor” on Monday, scoring just 11 points in 38 minutes, according to Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Head coach Mike Brown said there were issues with the Knicks’ offense as a whole rather than anything specifically related to Towns. Still, as Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic tweets, the star big man has now gone three games without scoring a single fourth-quarter point vs. the Spurs.
- Landry Shamet‘s excellent postseason hit a speed bump in Game 3 as he shot 1-of-8 from the floor and had a team-worst -20 plus/minus mark in his 23 minutes. The veteran wing is confident in his – and the team’s – ability to bounce back and “clean up” some of Monday’s mistakes, as Kussoy relays for The New York Post. “Great process, got some great looks, had a few that were down and out,” Shamet said. “Process over outcome. I’m more upset about some of the things defensively that I’ve been priding myself on. I had a few possessions where I didn’t do my job like I needed to. That’s fixable. Sometimes the gods give you in and outs and the ball doesn’t go in.”
- Veteran guard Jordan Clarkson provided the Knicks with a shot in the arm off the bench in Game 3 after receiving a DNP-CD in Game 2, per Braziller of The New York Post. Clarkson scored 10 points and was a +8 in 13 minutes.
- As dominant as the Knicks were during their 13-game winning streak that stretched from Game 4 of the first round to Game 2 of the Finals, their identity over the past two years has been defined by their resiliency, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, who suggests the club will have an opportunity to show off that trait after suffering a setback on Monday. “They’re a great team,” Anunoby said of the Spurs. “They weren’t just going to lay down. All we can do is move and learn from this. We have to take it as adversity and just respond to it.”
Knicks Notes: Brunson, Towns, Brown, NBA Finals
It was family connections that brought Jalen Brunson to the Knicks in 2022, more than the money or the chance to play in the NBA’s biggest city, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN writes in a lengthy profile of the All-Star guard. Brunson had deep connections to team president Leon Rose, who had served as an agent for both him and his father, Rick, and worked hard to get the elder Brunson a job in the NBA after his playing career ended. When the Knicks hired Rick as an assistant coach shortly before Brunson hit free agency, the deal was virtually sealed.
“I think Jalen had a loyalty to the Mavs because they’d drafted him, but the Knicks were his actual family,” a Mavericks source told Shelburne. “I don’t think we fully grasped that.”
Former Dallas general manager Donnie Nelson was thrilled to land Brunson in the second round in 2018 and team him with the Mavs’ other draft prize, Slovenian guard Luka Doncic. Both became rotation players right away, but Doncic showed immediate signs of stardom and their defensive liabilities raised questions about whether they could play together.
With the chance to offer Brunson an extension in the summer of 2021, the Mavs told him that they wanted to further evaluate the fit of the roster, according to Shelburne, who adds that they were also determining whether they could afford to keep Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith. Brunson reportedly told Dallas officials the following January that he would agree to an extension if it was offered then, but the Mavericks preferred to keep their options open if they had the chance to trade for a star, and an extension would have taken Brunson off the market. They made identical offers to Brunson and Finney-Smith after the deadline passed, but Brunson turned his down.
With free agency looming, the Knicks began clearing cap space on draft day with Brunson as their obvious target. The four-year, $104MM deal they ultimately gave Brunson was ridiculed by some as an overpay, but it turned out to be a huge bargain. Brunson became a star in New York and is on the verge of giving the city its first NBA title in 53 years.
“He’s comfortable there,” former Knick Jamal Crawford said. “They empowered him. They believed in him. He’s got guys on the team from Villanova that he knows and who fit his play style. He’s got his dad on the bench who knows exactly what buttons to push to get him going. He knows Leon. So with that comfortability, I think you’re going to get the best of him.”
There’s more from New York City:
- Karl-Anthony Towns‘ ability to alter his game in the midst of the playoffs has made the Knicks a more dangerous team, Steve Popper of Newsday notes in a subscriber-only story. After months of clashing with first-year head coach Mike Brown over his role in the offense, Towns accepted Brown’s vision when the team faced a 2-1 deficit against Atlanta in the first round. “It’s about impacting winning,” Towns said. “Especially this year throughout the year, I’ve always had to change my role for the betterment of the team. I’ve always had to change the way I play so it could be most beneficial for the team.”
- The Knicks began their coaching search last summer by calling several teams to ask about the status of their incumbent coaches, recalls James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. When Chicago, Houston, Dallas and others refused to grant permission for an interview, New York turned to Brown, who wound up being the perfect candidate and wasn’t bothered that he wasn’t the team’s first choice.
- Five Athletic writers discuss whether Towns is headed for Finals MVP honors and several other topics in a roundtable about the championship series.
Knicks Notes: Towns, Brunson, Bench, Sprays
Karl-Anthony Towns has arguably been the best player on the floor through two Finals games, and it’s not just Knicks fans who are appreciating his stellar play.
Many Timberwolves fans have been following the former No. 1 overall pick from Minnesota, not with bitterness at the success he’s experiencing far removed from the team that drafted him, but with joy for a player and personality they came to love during his nine years with the Wolves, Jon Krawczynski writes for The Athletic.
Towns, the player, has long been criticized, whether for his defensive limitations, his losing years in Minnesota, or even the way he carries himself. Meanwhile, Towns, the person, has built a reputation as one of the genuinely good people in the league.
“Towns has taught me so much about dealing with the loss of my mom two years ago,” one Wolves fan told Krawczynski. “He also donated $5,000 to my mom’s GoFundMe when she was battling pancreatic cancer. He is a great human. Me and my family will forever root for this man. So happy for him.”
Now, the Minnesota fan base has come together to watch Towns, the player, play the best basketball of his life, and be lauded by many of the same people who once criticized him. His composed, disciplined defense on Victor Wembanyama has been possibly the most important aspect of the Knicks’ play through two games, and he has carried the team through stretches when it needs a go-to scorer.
It hasn’t been easy to reach this level. It’s taken a mid-career transformation to address the inconsistencies in his game that came about at the most important stage of his career, Steve Popper writes for Newsday (subscriber link).
“Taking all that experience this year, I’ve had to do it on the fly. It wasn’t like game by game. It’s been quarter by quarter. That comes with experience and just knowledge of the game and just time. Time playing the game, time putting shots up, time reading defenses, seeing defenses, offenses,” Towns said. “One game Jalen [Brunson] got hurt, that’s when I have to be a primary scorer. Other games when he’s cooking, I’ve got to be a facilitator, a hub, assist maker, aggressive in play-making. Then there’s games when I need to do both when he’s in and I’m in and be able to do both when his shot is warming up. There’s also days where I got to be a decoy, I got to be the best screener, I got to be the best spacer for our offense. So I think that right now, whatever it takes to win, especially when you’re in the NBA Finals, I’m willing to do.“
We have more Knicks news and notes:
- Brunson had a simple response when asked by a reporter what teams missed when they allowed him to fall to 33rd overall in the 2018 draft: “Everything,” he said with a laugh (Twitter video link via SNY Knicks). The three-time All-NBA guard has struggled to find his scoring rhythm against the Spurs’ elite backcourt defense, shooting just 33.9% from the field and 23.5% from three with a 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. But, true to form, he has found ways to contribute in the biggest moments, hitting clutch shots to seal both games and collecting five steals in Game 2.
- Coming into this season, much of the focus on the hiring of Mike Brown revolved around how he could better empower the Knicks’ bench so that the team didn’t break down in the playoffs. As the Knicks look to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals, the second unit has provided a constant boost for Brown’s team, Vincent Goodwill writes for ESPN. Landry Shamet, the last player signed to the Knicks roster in the offseason, has become a critical part of the rotation. Mitchell Robinson has been a strong defensive presence against Wembanyama, despite playing through a broken bone in his hand. Jose Alvarado, acquired at the trade deadline, provided a huge boost for the team in Game 1 when Brunson went to the locker room with an apparent knee injury. It took all season to find the right balance, but it’s come together at the right time. “One of the many things I learned from [Gregg Popovich] and [Steve Kerr]. Steve was really good at trying to play a lot of different guys,” Brown said. “Not only that, a guy that hadn’t been in the rotation for a while, one game [a coach] might throw him out there as a starter. That kept guys engaged or on their toes.”
- A key bit of vocabulary needed to understand the Knicks’ success against the Spurs is the word “spray,” according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger. Sprays, or kick-outs from inside the paint to shooters outside the three-point line, are a critical part of Brown’s offensive ideology, whether off a Robinson offensive rebound or a Brunson drive to the paint. No play better embodied the concept than a sequence in the second quarter where four different Knicks penetrated off a pass, sprayed to a shooter, and the team ultimately got an open three to beat the shot clock. This movement is critical in terms of getting Wembanyama in motion and not allowing him to set up in a position to provide easy help, but it requires players ready to make quick decisions: either drive, pass, or shoot. “We have to try to keep touching the paint, trying to spray it if Wemby comes,” Brown said. “If you’re open, let it fly.”
Towns, Knicks Expected To Discuss Extension This Offseason
Karl-Anthony Towns‘ inspired two-way play has the Knicks two wins away from their first NBA championship in 53 years. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, if the team goes on to win the title, there’s an expectation the two sides will discuss a contract extension this offseason.
That may be true whether or not the Knicks win the championship, but Amick suggests a Finals victory would bolster Towns’ odds of signing a lucrative long-term deal. The former No. 1 overall pick will make $57.1MM next season and holds a $61MM player option for ’27/28, which he would need to decline to sign an extension this summer worth up to a projected $272MM over four years.
Amick suggests the star big man is unlikely to receive that full max, given the Knicks already have a high payroll that projects to get more expensive next season. Mitchell Robinson is reportedly expected to receive a good deal of external interest this summer, and Landry Shamet, a key reserve, will be an unrestricted free agent as well. The Knicks could have up to 10 free agents, including all of three of their two-way players.
Towns has outplayed Spurs star Victor Wembanyama so far to help the Knicks go up 2-0 on the road in the NBA Finals, with Game 3 set for Monday in New York. This is the third time in history the road team has won the first two games of the Finals; unsurprisingly, the previous two clubs — the 1993 Bulls and 1995 Rockets — went on to win the championship (Twitter link via the NBA).
Teams that have won the first two road playoff games in a seven-game series have gone on to win those series 27 out of 31 times since 1984, Amick notes.
Less than a year ago, the Knicks decided to table extension talks with Towns, who still still had three years on his contract at the time, per Amick. Shortly thereafter, his name popped in trade rumors involving Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Towns was floated as a possible trade candidate again in January when New York had a mid-season slump after the team’s NBA Cup victory over San Antonio the month before.
Now Towns has a chance to cement his name as a Knicks legend after helping to lead the team to 13 consecutive playoff wins, the second-longest streak in NBA history (the Warriors won 15 straight in 2017) (Twitter link). They’ve won eight straight road contests during this stretch, tied for the longest road winning streak in playoff history.
Towns, 30, has the best on/off numbers of all the Knicks’ rotation regulars in the playoffs, Amick observes. Through 16 games, he’s averaging 17.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.1 steals in 30.7 minutes per contest. He has posted an elite .570/.481/.900 shooting line while providing strong defense.
Knicks Notes: KAT, Reserves, Bridges, Brunson, Hart
Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns delivered another solid performance in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Friday, supplying 21 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes in New York’s thrilling 105-104 victory. He was also a plus-11 in his 34 minutes, Zach Braziller of the New York Post notes.
Towns has gotten the better of Spurs star Victor Wembanyama most of the series. The only thing that held him back was foul trouble, which limited his third quarter minutes.
“For me, I’m just happy to be finding ways to win,” Towns said. “I’m just worried about the team result, which is winning. … This team leans on each other. I think that’s why we’ve gotten here. That’s why we had the success we had during the regular season, even when things weren’t going great because at the end of the day when things do get tough, and the trials and tribulations do present themselves, this team doesn’t disband. They don’t go away from each other. We lean into each other even more.”
Towns has been drawing inspiration from his late mother, Jacqueline Cruz, who died in 2020, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- New York’s bench accounted for 27 points and 10 rebounds in Game 2, and Mitchell Robinson defended Wembanyama when the Spurs’ star missed a jumper in the closing seconds that would have won the game. “Our effort, it’s been crazy,” Robinson said, per Raul Dominguez of The Associated Press. “We just came out there just fighting, you know, talking to each other. Communication, that’s been key for us.” Landry Shamet, Miles McBride and Jose Alvarado also contributed to the second unit’s success. “Somebody is always there,” coach Mike Brown said. “Again, a lot of contributions from a lot of guys, and that’s why you like having a team, because it could be anybody’s night on any given night. Our guys don’t care. They sacrifice for one another and we found a way to get a win.”
- Mikal Bridges played a key role again in the Knicks’ 13th straight playoff win. He had 20 points on 13 shots along with six rebounds and six assists. The Knicks still owe the Nets four first-round picks courtesy of the Bridges trade, but it’ll be worth it for a championship, SNY’s Ian Begley writes. Bridges has excelled in the postseason. “Just that desperation,” he said. “You know, that desperation of trying to be the last team standing and trying to do whatever it takes to help my team win. There’s nothing after June. You don’t play again until October. So just try to give it all that I got and do whatever it takes for this team.”
- Jalen Brunson wound up hitting the game-winning free throw after a Wembanyama turnover, masking his rough shooting night. He went 7-for-25 from the field and also missed the second free throw, which gave San Antonio a chance to win on the final possession, Howie Kussoy of the New York Post notes. “For J.B., you call it rough shooting nights, I see him hitting the free throw to give us the game,” Towns said.
- The Knicks overcame Josh Hart‘s scoreless outing, Braziller notes. Hart only played 18 minutes due to foul trouble, which thwarted his usual all-around impact, Braziller writes.
Western Notes: Gafford, Queen, A. Green, Clippers
After battling a nagging right ankle sprain throughout the 2025/26 season, Mavericks center Daniel Gafford said on Friday that he’s taking his time to fully recover before resuming on-court work, according to Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter video link).
“I’m getting there. The rehab is good. I’m staying consistent. I’m holding myself accountable to just take care of my body … I don’t want to rush anything,” Gafford said. “Whenever I get back on the court and do all the workouts, I want to be 100% healthy.”
Gafford was limited to 55 regular season appearances this season due to the injury, which he sustained on the first day of training camp last fall. He averaged 9.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 21.7 minutes per game.
The 27-year-old big man was also asked for his early impressions of new president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and the changes he’s made to the organization so far (Twitter video link via Curtis).
“It is a business. I’m not necessarily surprised when it comes to some of the things that he’s done with the organization because I’m pretty sure he already had that in his back pocket when he got hired,” Gafford said. “I’m just sitting back and watching from afar. … I’ve yet to get the chance to sit down and talk with him, but he made sure he called me and we had a good conversation on the phone.”
We have more from around the Western Conference:
- Pelicans center Derik Queen reconnected with former teammate Jose Alvarado and asked Karl-Anthony Towns for advice in his role as a player correspondent at the NBA Finals on Wednesday, as Rashad Milligan of NOLA.com relays. “I mean, you already are superbly talented,” Towns said. “I’ve seen it firsthand. I think, for me, it’d be more about locking into the film consistently. Never leave the gym, be infatuated with the work. I know it’s weird, but JB [Jalen Brunson] has it on his shirt, but the magic really is in the work. The real gift about experience is that you’ll find ways to accomplish the same goal and get the stats with using way less energy. And with that, that’s where experience really kicks in, and it’s a beauty.”
- The Pelicans have made another addition to their front office, hiring Amanda Green as executive strategy and analytics, the team announced (via Twitter). Green is a longtime former Thunder executive who got her start in San Antonio and previously held a role in the league office, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. New Orleans hired Thomas Scott on Thursday to be the general manager of the team’s G League affiliate.
- Wisconsin guard Nick Boyd, Arizona guard Anthony Dell’Orso, Miami (OH) guard Peter Suder, Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton, Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn and BYU center Keba Keita are among the players who have worked out for the Clippers this week, league sources tell Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link). Thorton is the top-ranked prospect in that group on ESPN’s big board, coming in at No. 52. Los Angeles currently controls the fifth, 36th and 52nd picks in this month’s draft.