New York Knicks captain Jalen Brunson welcomed his team’s opening-night loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, calling it a “good” outcome to start the new season.
“I think it’s good for us to kind of get knocked down off the mountain, humble ourselves, put our egos in check and see what’s going to happen,” Brunson told reporters after his team suffered a 106-100 loss on Tuesday.
“I’ve told you guys since Day 1: whatever happens these first couple of weeks of the season is going to show who we truly are,” Brunson added. “So let’s see.”
The reigning Finals MVP had an off night by his standards, finishing with 21 points on just 6-of-19 shooting from the floor and 1-of-3 from deep. He dished out only three assists as the Knicks managed a modest 21 total, struggling to recreate the dynamic offense that fueled their dominant 16–3 run in last season’s playoffs.
Should Knicks Be Concerned?
Knicks head coach Mike Brown took a more critical stance, admitting he would have been disappointed with the performance even if the Knicks had won.
“If Jalen Brunson hits those shots down the stretch and we win, for me personally as their coach, there’s going to be something inside of me that wished it wouldn’t happen,” Brown said of Brunson going 1-of-5 in the fourth quarter, via ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill.
“It’s almost like you’re playing with fire and you ended up winning that time without any water or one of them fire blankets to cover the fire.”
Unsurprisingly, the Knicks battled early rust and a title hangover, shooting just 10-of-27 from the floor and 2-of-11 from deep in the opening quarter. Though they rallied in the second to carry a 58–54 lead into halftime, a 52–42 second-half drop-off sealed their fate. For Brown, the damage was done early — the Knicks had dug themselves too deep a hole with that sluggish start.
Mike Brown Blasts Knicks
“We put ourselves in a hole not doing the other little things and, you know, sometimes it works at the end of the game, sometimes it doesn’t,” Brown said of his team.
Brown refused to make excuses for his players, despite them starting the night by raising a championship banner, emphasizing that they had no excuse for failing to do their job from the opening tip.
“It’s tough because, knock on wood, it could be a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Brown said.
“You definitely want guys to embrace it, celebrate it with each other, because they went through a lot with the fans. But in the same breath, we have a job to do tonight.”
Brunson also refused to make excuses.
“Obvious for me, shots weren’t falling,” Brunson said. “We can make all the excuses in the world. Like I said, I’m just happy we can move forward now.”
The Knicks (0-1) will next face the Boston Celtics (0-1) in an away game on Friday.
Jalen Brunson Makes Bizarre Admission After Knicks Loss to Sixers