Jalen Brunson kept the spotlight on the task ahead as the New York Knicks prepared for Game 3 of the NBA Finals, even with his team two wins from a championship and the city ready to erupt at Madison Square Garden.
When asked about the atmosphere around the Finals, Brunson made clear he is not letting himself get distracted. “Not until it’s over,” he said when asked whether he was looking around at the scene in New York.
That same approach has carried through the postseason, and Brunson said it is tied to how he was raised and to the standard Kobe Bryant set. “I think the way I carry myself and the way I do things is a credit to how I was raised by my parents,” he said. “But also part of the philosophy I think seeps into the mamba mentality as well.”
Brunson added that he stays grounded by staying present. “I just do my best to stay present in the moment, to do the things I can, to make sure my mind is right, being mentally and physically ready every day. Trusting my work. That’s what’s got me here.”
The Knicks guard also said he has not recently revisited Bryant’s Finals performances. “I haven’t watched anything recently,” Brunson said, while stressing that his own routine is the product of years of preparation.
New York enters Game 3 with a 2-0 lead after Brunson’s go-ahead free throw helped seal a 105-104 win in Game 2. Even so, he said the team knows it left opportunities on the floor. “Playing better with the lead that we had in the 14-point lead,” Brunson said when asked what needs to be cleaned up.
He was just as direct about the finish. “Just unacceptable the way we just obviously let that 14 point lead go the way we did,” Brunson said, while crediting the Spurs for their pushback late in the game.
The Knicks have been built on growth, and Brunson pointed to that same theme when reflecting on last year’s loss in Indiana and how the group has evolved. “Every year is a new journey,” he said. “Every year is a new season, a new way to kind of grow as a team.”
Brunson also thanked Knicks fans for the long-awaited return of Finals basketball to the Garden. “I think it’s really cool,” he said of the first Finals game in the building in 27 years. “I know our fan base is really excited. As they should be.”
Still, he said the celebrations can wait. “In my mind there’s nothing really to celebrate yet,” Brunson said. “It’s still a lot of work to be done.”
