TORONTO – The streaking Knicks are bringing their luck to Sin City.
After an efficient masterclass from Jalen Brunson, the Knicks defeated the Raptors in Tuesday night’s NBA Cup quarterfinals, 117-101, before advancing to Saturday’s semifinals in Las Vegas against the Magic.
Brunson, who thrives in single-elimination environments (check out his two NCAA titles with Villanova), scored 35 points on 13-for-19 shooting, dissecting Toronto’s porous defense while getting off smooth and swishing jumpers.
“The ball went through the hoop,” Brunson said.
He went 6-for-9 from deep and the Knicks (17-7), winners of four straight games and eight of their last nine, reached the final buzzer, never allowing the lead to reach single digits in the second half. Brunson was joined in offensive efficiency by his Villanova buddy Josh Hart, who dropped 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field.
Karl-Anthony Towns, returning from a one-game absence due to a tight calf, added 14 points with 16 boards.
After falling in the NBA Cup quarterfinals the past two years — including last season’s infamous Trae Young dice roll on the MSG logo at midcourt — the Knicks are in the Vegas Final 4.
But things didn’t start well for NYK on Tuesday.
The first quarter was a slopfest for the Knicks, who committed seven turnovers that led to 12 Raptors points. Toronto led 39-35 after that opening quarter, despite Brunson scoring 20 points in the first nine minutes.
The Knicks picked up the defensive intensity in the second quarter, dominating those 12 minutes and taking a 17-point lead into the break.
“Jalen did what he had to do. He saved us offensively in that first quarter,” coach Mike Brown said. “And so we were able to score with them and stay close because Jalen had a great first quarter, which he’s clearly more than capable of doing. That’s exactly who he is when you talk about a league MVP candidate. And after that first quarter, everyone on our team started getting aggressive.”
The Raptors (15-11) are vulnerable, undermanned and broke.
They were at home, but the clear underdogs, having lost five of their previous six games – including a lopsided defeat at MSG last week. Toronto also missed RJ Barrett, who has a knee injury, and Immanuel Quickley, who was late due to an illness.
The Knicks, who were without Miles McBride because of what one source described as a high ankle sprain, have been vocal about their desire to win the NBA Cup despite the scheduling issues.
Since the Knicks won, they’ve been flying across the country to Las Vegas for a road trip that could last a week and end in Indianapolis.
If they had lost, they would have gone home for about a week with only one home game.
So now they’re hitting the road instead of enjoying a mini winter break.
And as a reward for their skimping, the Knicks earned more prize money, with the semifinalists collecting more than $100,000 per player, compared to more than $50,000 for the quarterfinalists (a championship would earn them more than $500,000 each).
“Life is short. My view is you want excitement in your life. So try to put yourself in positions where sometimes you feel pressure,” Brown said about prioritizing the NBA Cup. “When you’re a competitor, you want some excitement in your life, you embrace that.
“One of our standards is to have a competitive spirit. All of our guys, especially when you’re moving forward or moving forward, have to embrace any kind of pressure that comes with it because ultimately that’s what you do when you’re a competitor.”
And there’s also the chance to raise a championship banner — albeit one that would be quickly forgotten, perhaps cursed by fans, if the Knicks don’t continue a run to the NBA Finals.
“Any time you can hang a banner, you go and get it, you try to get it,” Brown said. “We have our standards. We have our principles, we have our values, but at the end of the day it’s about winning. That’s what we all signed up for.”
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