Jalen Brunson has 'utmost confidence' Knicks' core can contend - ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS — The responses were in hushed tones, the kind often reserved for humbling, season-ending losses like the one the Knicks suffered Saturday in a 125-108 beatdown by the Indiana Pacers that dashed New York's hopes of making the NBA Finals.

But as downtrodden as the Knicks were over the result — a 4-2 series loss in the Eastern Conference finals — their stars expressed optimism for the future.

Asked how confident he was that this core, in its first year together, could take the next step toward a title, Knicks captain and All-NBA guard Jalen Brunson didn't hesitate.

«The utmost confidence — overconfident, seriously,» he said. «There's not an ounce of any type of doubt. I'm that confident with this group.»

Brunson said Saturday there were «a lot of people saying we couldn't do a lot of things, a lot of negativity» around the Knicks' campaign, which began with high hopes following the team's blockbuster trades for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns during the offseason.

New York got off to a hot start but slowed considerably during the second half of the regular season, with the starting lineup — the NBA's most used — getting narrowly outscored over the final 3½ months. The Knicks didn't inspire a ton of confidence against elite competition during that span, going 0-10 against the league's three 60-win teams.

But with four huge comeback wins in the playoffs — three after trailing by 20 points and one after falling behind by 14 — New York made believers out of many of its critics in taking down the Detroit Pistons across a hard-fought first-round series then beating the defending champion Boston Celtics in six games as a huge underdog.

The Knicks entered the Eastern Conference finals with Indiana as the