After winning the NBA Cup in Las Vegas, the New York Knicks will be shorthanded for their matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday. Jalen Brunson knows there's no parade for winning the NBA Cup, thus the Knicks will head back to work with an extended list of injuries on their injury report.
Ahead of facing the Pacers, the Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns (left knee), OG Anunoby (left knee contusion), Josh Hart (abdominal strain), and Mitchell Robinson (left ankle injury management) are all listed as questionable on the Knicks' injury report.
Thursday's matchup is the first leg of a road/home back-to-back, which ends with the Knicks hosting the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on Friday.
Spike Lee declares ‘this our year' after Knicks win NBA Cup
Film director and longtime Knicks fan Spike Lee believes this is the year for his team. After watching the Knicks beat the Spurs — 124-113 — in the NBA Cup final on Tuesday, Lee says it's just the beginning of a special season, he said, per Andscape's Marc Spears.
“Yeah. It’s not over. Tuesday. … It’s great. But we got a bigger thing. It’s a path,” Lee said, before discussing how many decades he's been supporting the Knicks.
“Growing up, Walt Frazier was my guy. Hey, you got Patrick [Ewing], Willis [Reed]. The guys I grew up with. Coach Red Holtzman. The backcourt. [Walt] Frazier, [Earl] Monroe, [Dick] Barnett. Senator Bill Bradley. Dave DeBusschere. Cazzie Russell. Dave Stallworth. I was a kid. I grew up with those guys. It’s going to happen,” he told the outlet about his faith in Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson.
The last time the Knicks won the NBA Finals was in 1970 and 1973, which Lee was attended when the Knicks clinched a title in 1970.
“In ’69-70 [season], I was there at Game 7 at 13 years old. The last time we won was the 1972-73 season,” Lee added. “That is more than 50 years. That’s five decades. It’s been a long, long, long, long time. But it’s going to be a joyous day in New York City [to win a title]. It’s going to happen.”
Brunson and the Knicks will look to extend their winning streak to seven games in Thursday's matchup against the Pacers.
