The season opener between the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics didn’t go well for the NYC side. The defending champions took a 19-point lead in the first quarter and maintained their hold on the game till the final buzzer. Talking to reporters after the 109-132 loss, Jalen Brunson had an NSFW response about tonight’s outing.
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The Celtics were playing with their Championship-winning squad as the Knicks featured a relatively new group with some new acquisitions. However, Brunson didn’t want to use it as an excuse for the loss.
He said, “That’s an easy way out, but we still got our a** kicked.”
The Knicks star added that the team will look to improve in the areas they were outplayed today. He did acknowledge that they still have a long way to go. But with a relatively new team, their focus will be on filling up those gaps as soon as possible.
Jalen Brunson was asked about the Knicks figuring things out with new players:
"That's an easy way out, but we still got our ass kicked." pic.twitter.com/IjhtUfOnKt
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) October 23, 2024
Brunson also reflected on his own performance in the first road game of the season. The 28-year-old said, “Personally, I’ve got to be better…My approach and everything, I just got to be better.”
From a scoring POV, Brunson had a decent game with 22 points, shooting 9-14 from the field.
"Personally, I got to be better."
– Jalen Brunson pic.twitter.com/1u6c89qUMo
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) October 23, 2024
However, much like the rest of his team, he couldn’t do anything else. The Knicks star only had one rebound and two assists in 24 minutes.
This will still be considered only a minor setback for the team. They just need to regroup and come back stronger in the next game.
Mikal Bridges has a positive outlook on the loss
Every team wishes to start their campaign with a win. It helps boost the morale for a long season ahead. However, even with a loss on the board, Mikal Bridges’ spirit has not taken a hit. The 28-year-old, who joined the franchise just this summer, spoke to the media after the game and detailed how he is looking at the loss.
Bridges said, “I mean, we’ve just got to be better, that’s pretty much it. Communicate to each other a little bit more. It’s early, game one. That’s why we’ve got 82 of them. We’re just going to learn from this one.” Not repeating the mistakes they made in the first game will be the key to their success in the upcoming games.
"It's early, game one. That's why we've got 82 of them. We're just going to learn from this one."
Mikal Bridges talks about the Knicks' struggles on defense and how the team can learn from them: pic.twitter.com/d4aY0Vp0hC
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) October 23, 2024
The Knicks really struggled with their shooting. By the end of the first quarter, Brunson was the highest-scoring player for his team with just six points. While they concluded the quarter with just 24 points, the Celtics piled up 43 points. To make matters worse, Jayson Tatum was on a scoring rampage against the Knicks and they had no answer for him throughout the game.
