The New York Knicks staved off elimination on Wednesday night, defeating the Miami Heat 112-103 to force a Game 6 back in Florida — and Jalen Brunson was a massive reason why.
The star forward scored 38 points while adding nine rebounds and seven assists as the Knicks lived to fight another day. He played all 48 minutes in the contest, and spoke afterwards about the crucial victory.
“Nothing was said at all,” Brunson said when asked if he and coach Tom Thibodeau had discussed playing the 26-year-old for the entire game. “Whatever it takes.”
Although Brunson was without a doubt the star of the show at Madison Square Garden, he still took the time to praise his teammate Quentin Grimes, who also played all 48 minutes.
“He's willing to do whatever it takes. When you have a guy like that on the court, you're ready to do whatever for him out there. Nothing but respect for him and he needs to rest up so he can do it again.”
That probably goes for both Brunson and Grimes, who will likely play all of Game 6 as the Knicks try to force a Game 7 back in New York on Monday night.
“You have to respect him as a competitor and then find a way to get the job done,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said about Brunson. “And he was able to get the job done, making those big, important plays.”
The Knicks denied the Heat's first attempt to become just the second No. 8 seed to reach the conference finals. The 1999 Knicks remain the only No. 8 seed to ever reach the conference finals in the current playoff format that began in 1984.
“Just tried to do everything I could to win,” Jalen Brunson finished. “We did that and now it's on to Game 6.”
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