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The Dallas Wings want to win, and the New YorkKnicks’ championship run teaches the Wings that a cohesive bunch of college teammates can indeed translate to success in the professional ranks.
While the Wings were playing the Portland Fire on Saturday night, the Knicks were playing the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. After a 94-90 win over of the Spurs, the Knicks won their first NBA Championship since 1973.
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Jalen Brunson finished with 45 points on 14-of-27 shooting from the field and was awarded the Finals MVP trophy after the Knicks secured the Game 5 win.
Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges combined for 27 points in support of their Villanova teammate. It was not the first time that Bridges and Hart helped Brunson in a critical game.
Hart scored 12 points while Brunson scored four points in the 2016 National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and the North Carolina Tar Heels. Kris Jenkins hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a dramatic 77-74 win in that one.
Bridges scored 19 points, and Brunson chipped in nine in the 2018 National Championship between Villanova and the Michigan Wolverines, as Donte DiVincenzo led the team with 31 points in the 79-62 victory.
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Bridges, Hart and Brunson won in college. The Knicks decided to see if the trio could do it in the NBA, and it worked.
The Knicks signed Brunson as a free agent on June 30, 2022 — Mavericks fans will no doubt remember that one. The signing came after Brunson was part of the supporting cast surrounding Luka Doncic in Dallas during the 2021-22 playoffs. Brunson averaged 21.6 points per game and helped Dallas defeat the Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs. He scored 41 points in Game 2 and 31 points in Game 3 as Doncic sat those games out with injuries.
Because of Brunson’s playoff success with Dallas and his two National Championship rings, the Knicks decided to give the keys to Brunson. At the time, New York had not won a playoff series since the 2012-13 postseason, and the Knicks believed Brunson could change that. He lifted his game to a new level as soon as he got to New York.
After averaging 16.3 points and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/wings-things-lesson-nova-knicks-120500367.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-16 12:05:00
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