The New York Knicks suffered a close loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Ring Night. Philadelphia won 106-100 to start the franchise's new era. Meanwhile, the Knicks have a rough start to a season in which they look to compete for another championship.
While Jalen Brunson finished with 21 points, he struggled immensely, only shooting 6-for-19 from the field with only one 3-pointer. He also had two turnovers and was -11 in the plus/minus stats.
In post-game comments following the Knicks' loss, obtained by ESPN, Knicks coach Mike Brown said he would have been annoyed if Jalen Brunson had miraculously saved them like he normally does.
“If Jalen Brunson hits those shots down the stretch and we win, for me personally as their coach, there's going to be something inside of me that wished it wouldn't happen. It's almost like you're playing with fire and you ended up winning that time without any water or one of them fire blankets to cover the fire.”
Jalen Brunson echoed the sentiment of the loss being a learning lesson for a long season ahead.
“I think it's good for us to get knocked down off the mountain, humble ourselves, put our egos in check,” Brunson said. “I've told you guys since day one, whatever happens the first couple of weeks of the season, I'm not sure that's who we really are.”
Article Continues BelowBrunson also tipped his hat to the 76ers, who he said played well.
“They're really good and they made things difficult for us. Obvious for me, shots weren't falling. We can make all the excuses in the world. Like I said, I'm just happy we can move forward now.”