Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart ‘proud’ of Knicks’ season, but not close to satisfied

After the Knicks’ season ended with a deflating 130-109 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, the players were given the chance to reflect on a season of overcoming many challenges and a mountain of injuries. But that reflection did not result in any pleas for understanding.

Jalen Brunson, who succumbed to a fractured left hand late in the third quarter, said the injuries are “part of the game,” and the team “didn’t make excuses for anything.”

“If things happened, we moved forward with what we had,” he said, adding that they want everybody healthy, but “they had that mindset of next man (up), and we really took it to heart.”

Given all the injuries - Julius Randle lost in the regular season, Mitchell Robinson lost for 50 games in the regular season and then in the playoffs, OG Anunoby in the regular season and then playoffs again – when asked if he thought the season was a success, Brunson was succinct: “No.”

When asked why he believed the 50-win regular season, No. 2 seed, and coming one win short of an Eastern Conference Finals appearance wasn’t a successful one for the Knicks, Brunson said they fell short of their ultimate goal.

"Did we win the championship? Did we get close? So, no. That's my mindset, this is how it is,” he said.

Josh Hart said the team “didn’t quit” and he hopes “New York can be proud of that.”

"Extremely proud of what we did this season,” Hart said. “Through all the injuries we continued to fight, we didn’t make excuses, and I’m happy with that. We gave everything and we're building something. That's something hopeful. This offseason everyone get in the gym, get better.”

He added: “We got better, we built off last year and next year we’re gonna build off this.” 

Hart started Sunday after sustaining a strained abdomen in Friday’s Game 6 defeat and was one of many players who gutted through injuries throughout the season, which was another area of pride as well.

“We fought. We put everything into this season,” he said. “Guys played hurt. Guys put their body on the line. I think you saw that with everybody.”

For Brunson, there is a sense of pride in that as well.

“I love the fact of how we fought night in and night out. I just love this group of guys that we have,” Brunson said. “Our mindset as a group was strong. Some nights when we may of not had what people thought was a team capable of winning, our mindset pushed us over that hump.

“Definitely proud of what we were able to do this year and proud of how we fought night in and night out. Obviously, the outcome is not what we wanted, but the way we fought is awesome.”

Hart said he believes there is “hope for what we’re building” when it comes to progress, but “I think we built a foundation a franchise that’s going to be fighting, a franchise that’s moving in the right direction. It’s tough to end it this way, but we’re going in the right direction.”

As a team, Brunson said he thinks in his two years the Knicks are “making positive strides, we just need to make more.”

Asked if he takes pride in his individual performance during the postseason, Brunson said there were positives and negatives.

“There's pros and cons to how I played,” he said. “The pros, obviously, I played well individually at some points in time during the playoffs. The cons are I didn't play well enough to help my team move forward.

“And so, you can say I got hurt in Game 7, I wasn’t playing well in Game 7, we had a 2-0 and a 3-2 [series] lead, it’s hard to look at things individually when you don’t help your team.”

In his postgame news conference, head coach Tom Thibodeau said Brunson is “never satisfied, he always wants to do better and that’s what I love about him, I love his mentality.”

Brunson went on to say: “I go into the summer every year looking back into how I can be better as a player, to be the more complete player I can be. There’s gonna be a lot of things [X’s and O’s], physically, and all that stuff I can do to be better. I think the most important thing I can do is to continue to just strive for perfection, strive for perfection.

“And knowing that I’m never gonna get there, it's just my mindset is I just need to be better every single day. I don’t care what I’ve done as a player, it means nothing.”

Players appreciative of fans

Despite the home team trailing for most of the game – and by as many as 22 in the first half – the crowd at MSG was lively throughout and several players spoke about the support they received from the Knicks’ faithful on Sunday afternoon and throughout the season.

"They have been nothing but amazing, to myself, to this team, to my family,” Brunson said. “It's really cool. I'm just so thankful for them and everything. The nights we need energy, they provided for us. The games on the road when we need energy, they provided for us.

“They're amazing. And I can’t really put into words of what they mean to me. But they deserve much more than what we're able to do this playoff run, they deserve much more than that."

Hart called the standing ovation when he fouled out late in the fourth quarter “huge.”

"I came here last year it was like my fourth team, sixth coach, my fourth franchise. I wanted a home,” he said. “And obviously the front office believed in me and gave me a contract. Thibs played me. The city embraced me. For me, that means a lot.

"The only way I can repay them is just to continue to put my body on the line, give everything I have, and leave my heart on that court. I feel like I did that this year. I've just got to thank the fans for just embracing me this year. I'm not perfect. There's a lot of ups and downs with Josh Hart. But they embraced me and they sent me love this whole time."