The Knicks dropped a pivotal Game 4 on the road against the Miami Heat on Monday and are now on the brink of elimination, trailing in the series 3-1.
The team will head back to New York for Game 5 on Wednesday night with its season on the line. After Monday’s loss, Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle preached the same message, saying the team needs to take everything “one game at a time” going forward.
“One at a time, how it’s been all year, one game at a time,” Brunson said.
“Yeah it’s gonna be a challenge,” Randle added. “Definitely going to be a challenge, but in these situations, you need to take it one game at a time.”
Brunson went on to say that “everything” needs to change for the Knicks to win Game 5 and stay alive in the playoffs.
“Everything. Long story short. We need to be better, I need to be better,” Brunson said.
Brunson added: “My mindset, I think, going forward, we’re on the brink of elimination, so everything you got. So that should be the mindset of everybody. No matter what you do, no matter what you have to do, just got to go out there and give it your all. Keep your confidence, I know it’s kinda easy to say, but it’s a big thing to keep your confidence.”
Randle called for the Knicks to dig deep and show how badly they want to win in order to extend the series to a Game 6.
“Gotta look inside, that’s all I can say, look inside. How bad do you want it?” Randle said.
“It’s one game at a time. Try to extend it one game at a time, it’s all we can do,” he added.
The Knicks struggled to get over the hump in Game 4, as they cut the lead to six late in the fourth quarter, but could not stop Miami from regaining possession on the offensive glass. The Heat collected 13 offensive rebounds, including seven in the final 12 minutes of the game, as they outrebounded New York, 44-35.
“Gotta give them a lot of credit, they have a lot of experience over there,” Brunson said. “Played better than us tonight. Like you said, we were kind of fighting an uphill battle. Didn’t do enough in the 48 minutes.”
Like Brunson and Randle, RJ Barrett understands the team’s back is up against the wall heading into Game 5. The 22-year-old expressed his determination to keep the season going ahead of the potential elimination game, saying they simply need to win.
“Get a win back home. That’s it,” Barrett said.