The San Antonio Spurs notched an impressive takedown of the red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder and reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to reach the NBA Cup final.
Now the Spurs have to deal with another scorching team and lava-hot player in the New York Knicks and Jalen Brunson if they want to win the trophy.
New York has won five straight and nine of 10 entering Tuesday night’s final in Las Vegas against the Spurs, who have won 10 of their past 13 after Saturday’s impressive 111-109 win over the Thunder in the West final.
Brunson has been on fire with four straight outings of 30 or more points, including a season-best 40 in Saturday’s 132-120 victory over the Orlando Magic in the East final.
Brunson used his whole arsenal of shots while making 16 of 27 against Orlando.
“I always played against (people) older than my age when I was younger,” Brunson said. “I had to be deceptive. I had to be crafty. That footwork lasts a long time. It’s (been) since fifth or sixth grade, really. That was the start of it.”
First-year coach Mike Brown has a major issue with the names being mentioned as NBA MVP candidates.
“I don’t ever hear Jalen’s name,” Brown said. “His name has gotta be one of the first names coming out of some of these mouths.”
Brown replaced Tom Thibodeau as coach after the Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals last season but lost to the Indiana Pacers in six games.
Big man Karl-Anthony Towns sees Tuesday’s game as an extension of New York’s postseason run last season.
“To win the Cup would be big for us for the energy it brings to our team, just to have the opportunity to win it,” Towns said. “I think it brings great energy to the team, great mojo to the team. It also brings that feeling of winning. No matter if it is the Cup, NBA Finals, winning anything, winning any game. When you get that feeling of winning, it’s addictive.”
San Antonio was glad to see star Victor Wembanyama back on the floor against the Thunder and he dominated the fourth quarter by scoring 15 of his 22 points.
After missing 12 games with a calf injury — San Antonio went 9-3 without him — Wembanyama was limited to 21 minutes and the Spurs outscored Oklahoma City by 21 when the big man was on the floor.
Wembanyama is placing a high level of significance on Tuesday’s game against the Knicks.
“It’s a high-stakes game that both teams are going to be very invested in winning,” Wembanyama said. “It shows we are preparing for the next step of more significant games in the playoffs. As competitors we want to win every game and this one brings something new to the table, so we want to win it even more.”
The Spurs are now at full strength. The game against the Thunder marked the first time all season that Wembanyama, star point guard De’Aaron Fox, reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle and No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper all played in the same game.
“It felt good,” Castle said. “This was our first game having everybody. And I feel like we’ve been good in close games, crunch-time games, and having big fella back was definitely a plus. I think it was a big part of why we won the game, especially how he played in the second half.”
Wembanyama senses his team is ready to knock off the Knicks.
“I’m glad we have this group,” Wembanyama said. “Everybody’s built for these moments.”
The Spurs and Knicks have split the season series in each of the past three seasons.
