SAN ANTONIO — Jalen Brunson delivered in the clutch, but Rick Brunson saved the day.
The Knicks watched the Spurs march to the free-throw line time and time again in the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center on Wednesday, and they began to lose their cool, beginning with head coach Mike Brown, who admitted as much during his postgame press conference after the victory.
“I didn’t do a good job of keeping my mind present in the game, and neither did our players,” he said. “We were all b—— too much at the officials.”
Brown credited his assistant coach for keeping the team in line.
“Rick Brunson was great. He told me to shut the hell up — sorry, Mom — he told me to shut up, or be quiet, and he told the rest of the team to be quiet and leave the officials alone,” Brown continued. “It was great of him because we were all kind of losing our mind, and I did it. Rest of the guys did it, and it helped us put our energy elsewhere, especially in the second half.”
The Spurs took six free throws in the first quarter while the Knicks did not take a single trip to the foul line. By halftime, the Spurs led the free-throw margin, 12-3.
“Honestly, [he said] we’ve just gotta stay solid. We can’t let that get in the way of what we’re trying to accomplish,” Miles McBride told the Daily News. “We’re in a hostile environment, and there’s a human aspect to it all, so we’ve just gotta stay solid and play our game.”
The Knicks trailed the Spurs 55-48 at the half and were down 14 midway through the third quarter. They responded with a 25-11 run to tie the game entering the fourth quarter and outscored the Spurs 29-19 in the final frame.
“[He said] just leave the refs alone, focus on what we’ve gotta get done, and that’s what we can control,” Jordan Clarkson said. “Those are uncontrollable situations that we’re in. We just wanna come in here, keep continuing to put our will in the game and stay locked-in.”
The Knicks ultimately shot 16 of 18 from the foul line, attempting seven fewer free throws than the Spurs, who missed five, in Game 1.
Hand it to mitch
Mitchell Robinson played 13 minutes with protection around his surgically-repaired right hand and logged two points and six rebounds in Game 1 on Wednesday. Brown said he didn’t think his backup center was limited by the fracture to the fifth metacarpal in his dominant hand.
“He caught a lob. He was still a vertical threat. If you don’t pull in to tag him, it’s a dunk, and when he rolls like he rolls and creates that weak side to pull in, our guys have to spray the basketball,” Brown said. “And then defensively, I thought he was pretty good, defensively, as well, trying to rebound, keeping those guys off the glass.”
Court jester
Robinson was on the floor when a fan stormed the court in the fourth quarter and took a selfie next to Victor Wembanyama. Security quickly grabbed the fan and escorted him off the floor.
“I’ve never been in that situation,” Wembanyama said. “I didn’t know how to act. It really surprised me, almost as much as that time where a bat crossed the court.”
