The New York Knicks may have won Game One of the NBA Finals on the court, but one of the biggest moments of the night happened on the sidelines. As emotions boiled over during New York’s 105-95 win against the San Antonio Spurs, assistant coach Rick Brunson stepped in with a message that helped settle down the entire bench.
After the game, Knicks head coach Mike Brown revealed exactly what happened.
“He told me to shut the hell up and he told the rest of the team to be quiet and leave the officials alone,” Brown said after the victory, via Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.
Brown admitted frustrations with the officiating had started to take over throughout the game.
“It was great of him because we were all kind of losing our mind.”
The tension wasn’t limited to the coaching staff. Rick Brunson’s son, Jalen Brunson, was visibly frustrated with several calls during the game. In the opening quarter, television cameras caught the Knicks star yelling toward veteran referee Scott Foster.
The frustration continued later in the first half after Spurs center Luke Kornet fell onto Brunson’s ankle during a play. Following the final buzzer, Brunson again approached Foster before teammates stepped in to calm the situation.
Despite the distractions, New York stayed composed when it mattered most.
The Knicks outscored San Antonio 29-19 in the fourth quarter and closed the game on an 11-0 run over the final minutes to steal home-court advantage and take a one-game lead in the series.
Brown credited Rick Brunson’s intervention as a major factor in helping the group refocus.
“We were all bitching too much at the officials,” Brown said. “Rick Brunson was great.”
While both teams were charged with 23 fouls, the Spurs attempted seven more free throws than New York. Brown’s comments made it clear there was plenty of frustration on the Knicks’ side, but the coaching staff ultimately decided keeping their focus on basketball was the smarter path.
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