The Knicks are remaining level-headed.
Mikal Bridges has played in enough big playoff series by now to know what happens when a team starts feeling itself too early.
So after the New York Knicks rolled through the Philadelphia 76ers 144-114 on Sunday to complete a four-game sweep and punch their ticket back to the Eastern Conference Finals, Bridges wasn't soaking it in.
"It's what we expect to do," Bridges said postgame. "I feel like this group is special, but we can't take it for granted. ... We have to stay locked in and know that getting to the Eastern Conference Finals isn't the final goal."
Bridges Has Stepped Up When It Matters
The words carry more weight when the play backs them up, and Bridges looked nothing like the guy who struggled through the first round against the Atlanta Hawks.
He averaged just 10.0 points in that series, and there were real questions about his role.
Then the 76ers series started and something clicked.
He scored 17 on 7-of-10 shooting in the opener, followed it with 18 in Game 2, then had his best game of the playoffs with 23 points and two steals in Game 3.
What might matter even more is what he did defensively on Tyrese Maxey, holding the 76ers guard to 18.3 points per game in the series, well below his regular season average.
Through 10 playoff games, Bridges is shooting 57.4 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three, a massive jump from his regular season line of 14.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists.
This is the version of Bridges the Knicks bet on when they signed him to that four-year, $150 million extension last summer.
It just took a round to get there.
Why New York Should Be the East Favorite
The Knicks went 53-29 in the regular season and are now 8-2 in the playoffs, riding a franchise-record seven straight postseason wins.
Their average margin of victory through two rounds sits at 19.4 points, the largest by any team at this stage since the field expanded to 16 teams in 1984.
Jalen Brunson has been the engine behind all of it, averaging 28.0 points and 6.1 assists this postseason while putting up 29.0 per game against the 76ers specifically.
Karl-Anthony Towns has been a different player in the playoffs too, dishing 6.6 assists per game in a facilitating role nobody saw coming.
The depth showed up huge when Miles McBride stepped in for an injured OG Anunoby and dropped 25 points on 7-of-9 from three in the closeout game.
The Knicks averaged 124.3 points across the series while holding Philadelphia to 102.0.
Whether Cleveland or Detroit waits in the Eastern Conference Finals, this Knicks team has earned the right to be considered the favorites in the East.
Bridges just wants to make sure nobody in that locker room treats it like the job is done.