Never in Knicks history has New York swept back-to-back postseason series.
Monday’s the day, youknowwhatimsaying.
Here’s the latest. Get hype, enjoy tonight.
Mike Brown
On avoiding complacency with the Finals in sight:
“Going through this process, one of the things that I’m trying really hard to do and trying really hard to make sure our team does from the top down is to stay present. And what I mean by that is, we don’t wanna get ahead of ourselves,
because as soon as we start getting ahead of ourselves, that’s when disaster always occurs, it seems. So for us, starting with me, making sure everybody in the organization on down understands it’s about the next game. And really, it’s about the next possession. And I try to block out everything else as best I can and not think about ‘what ifs,’ because I know for me, it would distract me 100 percent at this time of the year.”
On the risk of getting ahead of themselves:
“We don’t wanna get ahead of ourselves, because as soon as we start getting ahead of ourselves, that’s when disaster always occurs, it seems.”
On thinking about winning a title when he signed with the Knicks:
“When I took the job, I thought about it. But going through this process, one of the things that I’m trying really hard to do and trying really hard to make sure our team does from the top down is to stay present.”
On balancing enjoyment with focus:
“The guys have played good basketball, and they deserve the right for me to make sure that I recognize it and that they’re able to take a breath and enjoy for a few moments what they did do. But again, I’ll try to read the room, and so every once in a while, I may tell them, ‘Hey, you guys were great. Great, great, great, great, but be ready for this, because this can happen.’ So I’ll try to let them go a little bit but bring them back to earth every once in a while with a statement, something that could happen or did happen. And we kinda go from there, but everybody is human. Everybody needs an opportunity to enjoy this roller-coaster ride as it’s unfolding. But the same breath, it’s my job to try to make sure I lead the charge in bringing them back down to earth sooner than later.”
On OG Anunoby’s All-Defense snub:
“I got one more thing before I’m taking off. You guys can all print this. Great players out there. I’m not discounting anybody, but freakin’ OG got robbed. He should’ve been first-team All Defense. First-team All-Defense. The versatility he brings to this team — we’re a top-five defensive team. Top-five defensive team, OK? The versatility that he brings — and everybody always says, ‘Oh, you got KAT. You got Jalen. Blah, blah, blah.’ The versatility that that guy brings to this team is off the charts, and I hope the voters get it right the next time around. I’m happy he’s second-team. He deserves something, but it was wrong.”
On championship traits he sees in this group:
“All of them had a competitive spirit that was unmatched. They were all connected. Those intangibles are what I see that our team is.”
OG Anunoby
On closing out the series in Game 4:
“We have to come in knowing that this series isn’t over and keep our foot on their necks and try to win the game.”
On earning second-team All-Defense recognition:
“It was cool to get the recognition. Anytime you’re recognized by coaches and the media, it’s really cool. The second team is cool, I was hoping I got first team, I thought I should have gotten first team. But second team is good. Every recognition is good. First team, second team. There’s a lot of good defenders in the league, so to be recognized as one of the 10 premier ones is really cool in itself. Just happy. Now I’m just focused on the rest of the playoffs.”
On believing he’s been elite defensively for years:
“I feel like I’ve been a great defender for years. So anytime you get recognition — recognized by coaches or the media, your peers, whatever — it’s really cool. Second Team is cool.”
On not dwelling on the Knicks’ finals drought:
“I don’t think we’re stuck on it. Our goal is just to win each and every game. However long it was, six years or two years or 20 years, it doesn’t matter.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On the team’s unity during the streak:
“We’ve won all these games in a row as a team. We’ve had this winning streak as a team. We found ways to get these great wins as a team. As long as we stay together and stay unified, we feel and have always felt that the sky’s the limit for us.”
On demanding more desperation amid the Game 3 win:
“I think that we’ve got to be more desperate. We’ve got to be more desperate. This [Cavaliers] team is too good, too great, it’s too much of a big stage to not find more desperation in the game.”
On what frustrated him most during the first half of Game 3:
“We gave up 27 points. That’s what pissed me off more than anything.”
Jalen Brunson
On how long he’s thought about reaching the Finals with the Knicks:
“Since I signed.”
On whether the Knicks are peaking:
“I don’t want to consider us peaking at this moment. I still think we have a lot of work to do. Us as a team, I’ve said this all year, we just want to get better every single day. That includes the times that we’re in the playoffs because there’s still time to learn, still time to get better. That’s how I’ve always thought about it. I haven’t really had the time to really kind of wonder where we are as a team. All I focus on is how can we get better from the day before?”
On treating Game 4 like any other:
“No matter what is at stake, it’s a chance for us to come together, be better than we were the game before, continue to learn. And try to be the best team we can be.”
On not thinking about historical stakes:
“It doesn’t really cross my mind at all right now. Just really focused on tomorrow. I’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, honestly.”
On fan excitement amid this ridiculous run:
“I mean they’re probably excited. Rightfully so, but we have a job to do, and we have things that we need to focus on. That’s on them being them, but we have to be locked in to do what we do.”
Kenny Atkinson
On claiming the Cavs are ‘analytically’ ahead:
“Analytically, we’ve won 2 out of 3. We’re two out of the three in the expected score. If you believe in process and all that, like, man, take that later. I don’t throw that on them. I see it for myself, and if I have this feeling, I can go to our analytical table and be like, man, the expected score was like one point or two — us shooting way below expected, them shooting way over.”
On the public’s reaction to that argument:
“I know no one wants to hear that. I think you guys like hearing it, but I know the general public, nobody wants to hear that. Everybody is outcome-based. You know, sure, I get that too.”
On past success against New York:
“We’ve had success against this team before. We’ve had really good moments in this series — up 20 in Game 1. Even Game 2, take that run out from the beginning of the third quarter, and it’s pretty tight.”
On believing in process despite results:
“If you believe in process and all that … take that layer. I know I don’t throw that on them. I see it for myself. We have this feeling — I have this feeling — then I can go to our analytical table.”
On the Knicks avoiding any sort of drop in production:
“Teams that make that next step, it’s the balance that’s impressed me the most. They have so many contributors right now, and I think that is what’s different from the regular season. We all know they had ups and downs, they had periods where they weren’t playing well. The sustainability of it, you’re expecting a letdown. We haven’t seen a letdown from them yet.”
On Cleveland’s defensive struggles and Knicks contributors:
“It comes down to performing better, individually. Bridges is 27 of 38 [in this series]. [Landry] Shamet is 7-for-8 from 3 in this series. They’re getting stellar performances across the board. Josh Hart in Game 2 had an incredible game. Jalen’s great and Towns is great, but we’ve kind of done a decent job on those guys, you can argue. … OG’s two wing 3s [in Game 3], like the jab, jab 3, are you kidding me? … The goal was to slow down their momentum, and that mojo they got, and we haven’t been able to do that. That’s the frustrating thing for me. Part of that is them playing great. We haven’t found a formula to slow their mojo down.”
On the Cavs players believing in a comeback:
“I had eight great answers. I said, ‘Well that makes me believe more because you guys really believe in yourselves.’ Each guy had a different reason or two. I don’t want me to get up and say, ‘Hey we got to believe.’ It’s not that. It’s, do they believe? They do believe. They’re probably not steeped in the stats that you guys all know, how hard this is. But I don’t think they care about that. They believe in the group, they believe in each other, they believe we’ve had really good stretches against this team.”
Jaylon Tyson
On believing the Cavs are better than the Knicks:
“I still feel like we’re the better ballclub. Obviously, we haven’t shown that. We have another opportunity Monday to keep this thing going.”
On playing for avoiding a sweep:
“I think, ultimately, it’s a pride thing. Tomorrow is going to be a big test for where we are mentally. We’re at home — we don’t lose at home. We should take pride in that. These dudes, call a spade a spade, they’re trying to sweep us. Me, personally, I don’t take that lightly. Whether I’m playing five minutes or 15 minutes, whatever it is, I’m going to put my best foot forward and I know my teammates are going to put their best foot forward and try not to let that happen. I think that’s a pride thing.”
Walt Frazier
On what this Knicks team reminds him of:
“It reminds me of a team I played on. Bradley, Frazier, DeBusschere, Reed, Barnett — unselfish play, tenacious defense.”
On whether the Knicks will finish the sweep in Cleveland:
“I’m buying the brooms!”
LeBron James
On the Knicks’ offensive evolution:
“The defense can’t just key on a couple of actions anymore. I thought over the last couple of years with New York, you kind of got a good rhythm of how they were gonna play. The ball was gonna end up in a certain way every single time.”
On Karl-Anthony Towns as a hub in the offense:
“You now shift your pie chart from people just thinking heavy, heavy, heavy, JB pick-and-roll, JB iso, to now the demographic of your offense shifts. Which means the defense can’t just be keyed in on one action now. So having KAT as the hub, at the elbow, at the top of the key, it allows JB to be off the ball, where he can set a rip screen for OG to get to the rim where if [the defense] messes that up, OG gets a dunk. If they mess that up and both of them go with OG to the rim, now you have JB coming off it clean, either for a clean shot or a [dribble handoff]. Now the defense is playing catch up. That’s helped their demographic out a lot, their pie chart on what they can do offensively. And JB is still gonna have his iso game where he’s really good, he’s still gonna have his pick-and-roll game where he’s really good. But to sprinkle in a little bit of off-ball action, a little bit of pinch-post action, with a different hub, that helps a lot.”
Iman Shumpert
On Donovan Mitchell failing to lead the Cavs:
“When you look at somebody like Donovan Mitchell, you know what he possesses. I don’t care if you’re tired. I don’t care if you’re banged up. Do it without the mask. Save the bus, save the girl, take the punches, the broken ribs. That’s why you’re Spidaman.”
On the Cavs’ overall issues:
“When I look at this team, I look at guys that feel like sometimes somebody needs to put them in position, somebody needs to show them the way. No, no, no. Half the things that are going on with Cleveland is effort.”
Kevin Garnett
On Jalen Brunson’s place in Knicks history:
“He is this generation’s Patrick Ewing. He is the best player on the Knicks. He is, for me, the engine that makes that s*** go.”
On Brunson’s playoff résumé:
“He is. Like that mofo, if he don’t do that (late-Game 1 burst), they get smoked. That s started with him. He hit three, four shots in a row… It was perfect. The stage was perfect for him to do what he did. What he did last night will be why you remember him. Real shit man. He took the game over.”
Paul Pierce
On Brunson’s standing among Knicks greats:
“Arguably already a top-five Knick ever.”
