NBA FINALS: KNICKS VS. SPURS

June 3, 2026

Jalen Brunson

OG Anunoby

New York Knicks

Game 1: Postgame

Knicks 105, Spurs 95

Q. You've obviously been with Josh a long time. What do you think it is about him that he's able to impact the game without scoring?

JALEN BRUNSON: Yeah, that's just who he is. He's always been that way. I can't explain it. He just has a knack for doing things like that, and in crucial times, as well. It's a credit to who he is as a player.

Q. You guys have come back in so many games. Your resilience has been the story of the season. Is there a calm or familiarity in that situation, trailing in the second half?

JALEN BRUNSON: I don't want to say calmness but I think we know what we have to do. I think we are a pretty together group. Be able to trust each other and still have each other's back and know that we just have to keep chipping away, chipping away. It's just a credit to the mentality that we have as a team.

But we can't just be satisfied with that. We have a long way to go and we have a lot of things to do to be better, but happy we came away with a win.

Q. In that fourth quarter, you had been struggling a little bit. Does anything change or is it just keep doing what you do?

JALEN BRUNSON: I guess a mixture of both but continue to trust the things I've worked on my entire life. I think my teammates have the confidence in me, also gives me an extra boost, as well.

Like I said, we're together out there, and whatever happens, we're just going to fight for each other.

Q. OG, 12 points in the fourth quarter, a couple of huge threes, one pull-up over Wembanyama. What enabled you to get going there late in the game?

OG ANUNOBY: Just my teammates finding me and be aggressive, ready to shoot, shoot with confidence, and, yeah.

Q. About the NBA Cup, do you think there is more similarities or differences in this game and would you elaborate on that, please?

JALEN BRUNSON: The atmosphere is kind of similar. Obviously, we're playing home and away now, but I think no matter wherever you put that team, the San Antonio Spurs are going to come ready to play.

That's a credit to their culture, their coaching staff, and the players that they have over there. Nothing too different but they come to play regardless.

Q. I think at one point, you were 5-for-18 from the field and yet you really imposed your will on the game in the fourth quarter. Where does that strength and composure come from on a night when you're struggling from the floor to still have that kind of an impact on the game in the fourth quarter?

JALEN BRUNSON: I think it starts with my confidence. It comes with my work ethic.

I think most importantly, knowing we're on the road, and knowing my teammates have my back, I think that's the biggest thing in an environment like this. The trust they have in me and the trust I have in them, it's got us to this point. I mean, I'm very thankful for them every single night we go out there together.

Q. So for you to finally play in your first Finals game, like doing your ritual, I know you always like touch the floor when you go on to court, what goes through your mind, like compared to your last run with Toronto?

OG ANUNOBY: Oh, just thankful to be out there. I'm thankful to be playing with my teammates, the coaches. Just enjoying the moment, you know.

Q. You guys were down 20 twice in the second round against the Celtics last year; came back to win. You guys were down 22 in the first game against the Cavaliers: came back to win. Down 14 in the third quarter tonight and came back. Why are you guys comfortable when you're down big? What's the power in that?

JALEN BRUNSON: It's a position we obviously don't want to be in but it's always a next-play mentality. We have to control the things that we can control and our team is going to go on runs. Things are going to happen and somehow we bounce back.

We continue to find a way and just kind of keep chipping away. We knew one play was not going to bring us all the way back but we just kept chipping away.

Q. In the fourth quarter, did you feel like the Spurs were out of energy based on the fact they came out of a hard series and you guys got rest? Did that give you a spark in the fourth?

JALEN BRUNSON: Not necessarily. It's a mixture of us playing good defense and us obviously getting a little lucky.

But they come ready to play more than any other team that we've faced, and so we have the utmost respect for them. We know we have to be ready for Game 2. We just found a way to make plays within the game.

Q. Mike mentioned this wasn't your guys' best game. He didn't feel like you played your best game. You expected the same on the Spurs. In the fourth quarter stretch going towards the two-minute mark, you had not scored in a while and you had the tip-out for the offensive board and relocated it for the three. Did you think it would take a choppy, ugly play like that to pull it out in crunch time?

JALEN BRUNSON: It just goes back to having each other's back. You never know what's going to happen. Being together on the court, plays are going to happen and you can't really script what's really going to go on. Just making sure they are out there playing for each other.

We are all going to have moments, I think, when we have trust in our teammates and stuff like that, and the way he was playing the fourth quarter, the defensive style we have as a team we just kept sticking together. I know I sound like a broken record but it really made a difference.

Q. At the end of the game, you hit that big shot against Devin Vassell but before you hit the shot, you rejected Mikal's screen. Why did you reject that screen?

JALEN BRUNSON: It was more of an instinct. Being able to kind of read how the defender's body was shifting and just reading the play. I wasn't trying to pre-determine what I was going to do. It was just something I read and I just went with it.