The New York Knicks became the third team to celebrate winning an NBA Cup on Tuesday night as they outlasted the San Antonio Spurs, 124-113, in an unforgettable championship game. The Knicks dominated the fourth quarter to erase a double-digit deficit and etch their names in history alongside the 2023 Lakers and last year's Milwaukee Bucks.

But Knicks captain Jalen Brunson sees this latest hardware as a springboard to something even bigger.

The All-Star guard was asked if winning the NBA Cup felt like he expected it to feel.

"I'm very excited," Bruson said. "It's a goal of ours we get to check off. It's an important stepping stone for us. We can still learn from this game and get better as well."

People have different opinions about what winning this in-season tournament means. But if they are keeping score of anything it feels good to win and emerging victorious in a series of games where the intensity is ratcheted up feels like the very best boost a team could give itself when working through a long regular season.

For an organization like the Knicks it's nice to stack some success after making a run to last season's Eastern Conference Finals.

Both the Lakers and Bucks teams that took the NBA Cup were eventually bounced out of the postseason in five games, so it remains to be seen if any team can build upon the momentum earned with a pre-Christmas triumph.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jalen Brunson Sees Knicks' NBA Cup Crown As Stepping Stone to Bigger Things.

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