“That connectivity that we started with, had during the season, and continue to have now, paid huge dividends for our group,” said New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown following their grueling 105-104 win in game two of the NBA Finals on Friday night. 

Connectivity and especially resiliency are staples of this Knicks squad, who are now just two wins away from hoisting the Larry O’Brein trophy for the first time since 1973. 

Both of these teams embody that “power of friendship”, along with a mutual understanding that everyone is capable of stepping up.

This NBA Finals, regardless of the result, is something the fans have been desperately waiting for, which explains why game one was the most viewed NBA Finals first game since 2018, which was the last chapter of the incredible series that featured Lebron James and Stephen Curry for four consecutive seasons. 

Yet, the Knicks are the epitome of this feeling of connectivity. While it does help essentially, having the core of the 2016 Villanova men’s basketball championship squad taking the floor together, it seems without a moment's notice that someone comes through in their lowest moments of the game.

The Knicks held a late 97-83 lead in the fourth quarter, yet the Spurs gave the Knicks a taste of their own medicine and battled their way back with a 14-0 run to tie it, getting contributions from De’Arron Fox, Victor Wembanyama, and Dylan Harper.

Rather than let the momentum kill their drive, the Knicks saw their leader deliver in the clutch again. 

Jalen Brunson had an awful shooting night, having made just four shots entering the fourth quarter. Yet, when the Knicks found themselves in a grudge match, he came through in the waning seconds, scoring their last 5 points and securing the game with a go-ahead free throw. 

Karl Anthony Towns cannot go unnoticed for his incredible performance. He finished with 21 points, but his 13 rebounds helped the Knicks win the battle off the boards 44-42 over the Spurs, who were outrebounded for just the second time all playoffs. 

His physicality down low played a major factor against Wembanyama, who, despite having a monster game with 29 points, scored a large chunk of his 22 second-half points after Towns went to the bench for getting in foul trouble in the third quarter. 

Josh Hart was the primary missing piece in this game, putting up a goose egg in his 18 minutes of action, yet the Knicks were able to pick him up. Fellow Wildcat teammate Mikal Bridges stayed true to their next-man-up mentality, dropping 20 points on an exceptional 8-for-13 shooting and 4-for-6 from deep while spacing the floor for the offense to work. 

Wembanyama had a fantastic game, yet in the end, his careless turnover and inability to hit the game-winning shot to flip the entire narrative of the series ultimately showed who can provide that finishing touch. This Knicks team is far more poised than the Spurs, and their experience alone sets them apart.

Mike Brown understands resilience better than anyone. Not even two years ago, he was fired from the Sacramento Kings after ending their 17-year playoff drought in his first season with them. Even further back, he was eventually fired from the Cleveland Cavaliers despite leading the franchise to its first-ever finals. 

For a squad already overcoming a 22-point deficit in the conference finals, a 12-point deficit in the second half of game one of the finals, and fending off an incredible late run, this series could be over sooner than previously thought. 

The Knicks will enter game three back at Madison Square Garden as just the third team in NBA Finals history to win the first two road games, joining the 1993 Chicago Bulls and 1995 Houston Rockets, who both went on to win the finals.