CLEVELAND – This should have been more awkward than this, right? This is supposed to be enemy territory. This was almost 500 miles away from home. Yet when Clyde Frazier and Patrick Ewing walked onto a stage on the floor at Rocket Arena, it sure sounded like when they used to introduce DiMaggio and Mantle at old Yankee Stadium.
And when the two permanent members of Knicks Rushmore handed the Bob Cousy Trophy representing the Eastern Conference champions to Jalen Brunson – who by the time he’s done may need his own mountain – you could barely hear yourself think. Here. In Cleveland. The tip came just past 8 o’clock; the party began just after nine.
And now came the spoils for this 130-93 brutalization of the Cavaliers, this 4-0 sweep on top of the one they laid on Philly before. Later, Brunson accepted the Larry Bird Trophy as the series’ MVP. Two pieces of hardware named after Celtics. In the hands of a Knick. In the hands of THIS Knick.
“It means a lot, I wouldn’t be here without my teammate, the belief they had in me,” he said. “This coaching staff, the organization, the fan base: without them none of this is possible.”
