Jalen Brunson spoke at New York Knicks practice ahead of Game 4 of the NBA Finals against San Antonio Spurs. Following the team's first loss in over six weeks, the point guard emphasized the need to reduce turnovers, improve attention to detail, maintain game plan discipline, and reclaim the identity that led the Knicks to dominate the series. Brunson also discussed Karl-Anthony Towns, his relationship with his father on the coaching staff, and the importance of staying united after the 2-1 series lead.
Q. After a day to review the film, offensively, what things can you do to improve the flow?
JALEN BRUNSON: Not turning the ball over. Keep being who we are. Our attention to detail has to be better.
Q. How do you feel you've played in these Finals? What do you feel you need to do better?
JALEN BRUNSON: Most importantly, not turning the ball over, giving my team a chance. I'm somewhere in the middle. I've played better, but I've also played worse.
Q. You've talked a lot this season about your game starts. Three times in the Finals you've started down in the first quarter. What do you need to do better at the beginning of games?
JALEN BRUNSON: Yeah, I think we just have to be ready to come out. That's something very vague to say. I think it's also very simple. We just have to be ready.
Q. In the early games of these Finals, they've ramped up full-court pressure on you a lot. Those have been some of your highest usage games in these playoffs. Are those two things connected for you?
JALEN BRUNSON: I mean, they can be connected sometimes. That goes back to our attention to detail. Understanding where we're supposed to be, doing the things we're supposed to do as a team and, obviously, individually as well.
Staying focused on the things we're supposed to do and understanding the situations we're in as a team. Just helping each other out.
Q. When you got home last night, did you feel it as a loss and did that hurt, or did you feel it as the first loss in 46 days and was it something bad in a different way?
JALEN BRUNSON: I think the most important thing when I looked at it last night is that, win or lose, we were going to have to be here today to understand what we need to do to be better.
And that's our mentality, no matter what happens. We win, we learn; we lose, we learn. We understand what we need to do to be better. Give our team the chance to have the ball and not turn it over. Stop fouling. Like I said, just attention to detail, keep being who we are.
Q. Isn't that different than if you had lost a week ago?
JALEN BRUNSON: Yeah, it's not different.
Q. Game 3 seemed to be surrounded by narratives: you as the King of New York, Trump coming to the arena. Was there too much noise around it? Was it a bit distracting for you guys?
JALEN BRUNSON: Not necessarily. No matter what the narrative is or what's going on, we have to be professional, do what we need to do on the court. We have to focus, execute our game plan, and be together as a team. Win together, lose together. It doesn't matter what the narrative is. We have to be able to focus and do what we need to do. We've been able to do it.
Last night was no different.
Q. You've talked about attention to detail on offense in terms of ball movement. Does that have to do with San Antonio being more physical as the game goes on? And you also say we have to stop fouling so much. Is there a connection between physicality and fouling too much? Can you see where the line is?
JALEN BRUNSON: Yeah. There's a way to do the things we need to do, the things we've done throughout these playoffs. It's just game plan discipline. I don't think the discipline we had in those situations was good enough.
We have to be disciplined in those moments.
Q. You had a lot of wins by big margins during the streak. Now the games are closer. What would you say about how you're handling the way they're developing?
JALEN BRUNSON: Yeah, in every game, no matter what the situation is, we're growing as a team. I think we're learning and we're improving. Obviously, before last night…
No matter what the situation is, we're going to stay together. We're going to execute, we're going to be better. That has to be our mentality going forward.
You never really know what the situation is going to be. You never know how the script is going to play out. As long as we have each other's backs and keep fighting, that's what we're hoping for.
Q. Today we didn't have on-court activity. Do you think that maybe at this point in the season sometimes it's better to recover and not be on the court training? Do you think fatigue could be an X factor in these Finals?
JALEN BRUNSON: Yeah, I'm not really worried about that. I think, no matter what we did today, we were going to learn and improve, whether it was on the court or in the film room.
That's how it has to be. Sometimes learning and understanding attention to detail just by watching, seeing what we did wrong, is equally important.
Bottom line, stay together, keep fighting together, keep fighting for each other.
Q. If I remember correctly, when your team made the trade for Karl, I think you said you didn't know him that well as a person. What have you learned from him not just as a player, but as a person? How have you seen your relationship grow?
JALEN BRUNSON: Yeah, he's been a great teammate. He's been a really good teammate. But, most importantly, the person he is is fantastic. He's a person willing to do whatever it takes to help, whether he knows you well or not. That's just his character, that's just who he is. And that translates to the court.
So I didn't know him that well. Now, knowing him, there's an unfair narrative about him, but I really love that guy and everything he's done for this team, for this city, and as a friend. It's been fantastic.
Q. Not only are you the first father-son duo to play in a Finals with the same team. You're living this journey with your father on the coaching staff. How has this experience shaped you as a man and as a player? What have been the biggest challenges, the best and worst of balancing that family relationship in a professional environment?
JALEN BRUNSON: Yeah, our family relationship is incredible. I know when he's being a coach and when he's being a father. When we're on the court, he's a coach. I still call him Dad, but in that moment he's a coach. Once we step off the court, obviously he's my father.
Our relationship is very unique. It's interesting how people perceive that, how they perceive us. I wouldn't change anything for anything in the world. My father was a journeyman in the NBA, we lived in South Jersey for most of my childhood while he played. So being able to see my father for the last four consecutive years is probably the longest period we've ever had together.
I don't take this for granted at all. I love this relationship and this opportunity. I don't take it for granted.
Q. Obviously, over the last six or seven weeks, you've built a lot of winning memory and a lot of belief among the players. How much do you think that helps you tomorrow night?
JALEN BRUNSON: Definitely helps. It's also always good to have a reset.