Jalen Brunson described the New York Knicks’ 112-106 win over the Boston Celtics as a game that mirrored postseason intensity at Madison Square Garden.
“This had a playoff feel to it,” Brunson said. “The building obviously sounded loud.”
The Knicks guard pointed to the level of competition as a key factor in preparation for the final stretch of the regular season.
“Yeah, playing good teams. Continue to get better and so trying to find ways to win,” he said. “I think we’re doing a good job of staying together no matter what happens in the game and we keep finding a way.”
Brunson highlighted the growing connection in New York’s pick-and-roll actions with Karl-Anthony Towns. The play has become a central offensive mechanism in late-game execution.
“Just trying to make the defense make decisions and just playing off that,” Brunson said. “And I think the longer we’ve been together, the better chemistry has been.”
When asked about the increased usage of the action, Brunson kept the explanation direct.
“No. It’s an effective play,” he said. “Yeah. You should have been utilizing it a little bit earlier. Very effective play.”
Boston’s defensive approach also created spacing opportunities for New York’s shooters, which Brunson acknowledged through the game flow.
“If they leave any of our guys open, we want our guys to let that thing fly,” he said. “And Josh did tonight, knocking down big shots.”
Brunson also praised Josh Hart’s defensive versatility and late-game impact, along with the way role players executed within the system.
“At the end of the day, circle back to Josh,” Brunson said. “Not only did he give it to us from a three-point line and with execution offensively in that fourth quarter, but in the second half in particular, he was really good defensively.”
The Knicks guard also addressed the team’s ability to handle momentum swings after Boston’s second-half run.
“No, they’re a good team. It’s well coached,” Brunson said. “We knew they weren’t going to go away. We just held steady. We didn’t panic and we just kept trying to chip away at it.”
Brunson emphasized that defensive adjustments on Payton Pritchard and rebounding control were key in stabilizing the game.
“Those two areas, doing a little bit better job on Payton and doing a little bit better job on their offensive glass helped out a lot,” he said.
On the overall state of the roster, Brunson noted steady progress without claiming completion.
“I think we’re still getting better. And we’re in a good place,” he said. “We’re doing some things very well. But also, we have a lot to learn.”
He also credited Hart, who handled defensive assignments across multiple matchups, including switches onto elite scorers.
“Yeah. Like I said he’s been playing great,” Brunson said. “He’s really doing things that’s game-changing for us. And that’s just who he is.”
The Knicks improved their position in the Eastern Conference standings with two games remaining, holding the tiebreaker over Boston in the race for the No. 2 seed. Brunson kept the focus on the immediate goal.
“We’re heading in the direction of being where we need to be,” he said. “We got a couple more games to get there. We’d like to win both of them.”
