Brunson: 'Utmost confidence' Knicks' core can win

INDIANAPOLIS -- The responses were successful hushed tones, the benignant often reserved for humbling, season-ending losses similar the 1 the New York Knicks suffered connected Saturday successful a 125-108 beatdown by the Indiana Pacers that dashed the club's hopes of making the NBA Finals.

But arsenic downtrodden arsenic the Knicks were with the effect -- a 4-2 bid nonaccomplishment to the Finals-bound Pacers -- their stars expressed optimism for their future.

Asked however assured helium was that this core, successful its archetypal twelvemonth together, could instrumentality the adjacent measurement toward a title, skipper and All-NBA defender Jalen Brunson didn't hesitate.

"The utmost assurance -- overconfident, seriously," helium said. "There's not an ounce of immoderate benignant of doubt. I'm that assured with this group."

Brunson said Saturday that determination were "a batch of radical saying we couldn't bash a batch of things, a batch of negativity" astir the Knicks' campaign, which began with precocious hopes pursuing the team's blockbuster trades for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns during the offseason.

New York got disconnected to a blistery commencement this play but slowed considerably during the 2nd fractional of the year, with the starting lineup -- the NBA's astir utilized -- getting narrowly outscored implicit the last 3 and a fractional months of the regular season. The Knicks didn't animate a ton of assurance against elite contention during that span, going 0-10 against the league's 3 60-win teams.

But with 4 immense comeback playoff wins -- 3 aft trailing by 20 points and 1 aft trailing by 14 -- New York made believers retired of galore of its critics, not lone taking down the Pistons successful a hard-fought first-round series, but besides beating the defending champion Celtics successful six games arsenic a immense underdog.

The Knicks entered the Eastern Conference finals with the Pacers arsenic favorites, but they were undone successful the opener aft blowing a 14-point pb with conscionable nether 3 minutes to play astatine Madison Square Garden. Haliburton sent that 1 to overtime with a buzzer-beating jumper that bounced precocious supra the rim earlier falling through, and the Knicks mislaid Game 1 en way to opening the matchup successful a 2-0 bid hole.

New York recovered, cutting its bid shortage to 3-2, but yet made acold excessively galore mistakes successful Game 6 to person a accidental immoderate existent accidental connected the road, including 18 turnovers that Indiana turned into 34 points.

It was an uncharacteristic crippled for them, but Indiana repeatedly sped up the Knicks passim the series.

"They evidently played well, and played fast," said helping Josh Hart, who acknowledged that helium struggled to find his footing arsenic a contributor aft moving to the seat midway done series. "The turnovers were pugnacious for us."

There volition beryllium endless offseason analyses of this Knicks' roster, which is undoubtedly apical heavy. About 93% of the team's wage is committed to the top-six players successful the rotation: Brunson, Towns, Bridges, Hart, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson. (No squad had little seat scoring and less seat minutes than the Knicks during the regular season.)

But Towns and Brunson each said they felt arsenic if they could physique connected their archetypal twelvemonth unneurotic arsenic teammates.

"You ticker Jalen from afar successful the West, and past you spot what he's done for the city. ... It's adjacent much brainsick successful person," Towns said. "I don't accidental it lightly -- it's a blessing and an grant that I get to play with Jalen Brunson."

The players said the team's high-level enactment ethic, demanded by Tom Thibodeau, suggest that the Knicks tin enactment themselves backmost successful this late-season speech successful the years to come.

"No 1 sees the benignant of radical we have, the workers we have," Brunson said. "That's what gives maine the confidence, and I'm OK with that. I don't attraction what radical deliberation astir america connected the outside. I cognize what we've got."