The Knicks didn’t win a game for the first time in 14 attempts, and since CJ McCollum ignited the second-greatest postseason run in NBA history.
New York won 13 straight, and is now just two away—with four more opportunities to get those dubs—from winning the whole thing.
Here’s the latest from MSG’s action on Monday.
Mike Brown
On balancing officiating talk with what the team can control:
“It’s going to be (a story around officiating) because I said it. The
story is going to be there. But there are some controllables that we did not do a good job of doing. We allowed them to hit first at the beginning of the game. We allowed them to hit first in the beginning of the second half. We turned the ball over and we were stagnant offensively and we allowed them to get to the paint, and we did not pay attention to detail to what we are supposed to do defensively.”
On the series perspective and baffling foul split:
“I tell the guys, it’s a seven-game series for a reason. They are a great team. There are some things that we can control that I didn’t think that we controlled tonight. And then like I said, maybe we fouled 24 times, but I’m baffled that they only fouled eight in the second half.”
On allowing San Antonio into the paint:
“We allowed them to get to the paint, and we did not pay attention in detail to what we are supposed to do defensively.”
On the free-throw disparity in the second half:
“First of all, I want to get something clear. Coach Mitch Johnson and the Spurs, they won the game tonight. They came and took the game. But I will say this, I never thought I’d be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free throw attempts in the second half to another team’s eight. I don’t think I complain much about officials or the fairness when it comes to the free throw attempts. San Antonio is a great team, they’re a great team. It’s going to lower our odds big time, big time, if we play Game 4 and in the second half they get 24 free throw attempts to our eight. And maybe we were fouling, maybe we were fouling, but they foul too… There were opportunities for fouls to be called. To at least try to even the free throws out.”
On hoping for a more balanced whistle in Game 4:
“If they do this in Game 4, where it’s 24-8 in the second half, it’s going to be tough for us to win… There are a lot of things that we can do better and we’re gonna have to do better. But in the same breathe, like I said, hopefully they’ll see some more fouls called against them where it’s not 24-8. This is a four-point ball game, a one-possession ball game going down the stretch and it’s tough to overcome.”
On questioning the third-quarter free-throw gap:
“I talked to [the officials]. They outshot us 14-3 in the third quarter from the free throw line. I talked to them, and they said, well, this is a foul, this is a foul. That’s the question I had with them is, you’re right. Maybe we did foul. But they fouled, too.”
On giving the Spurs credit for execution:
“I give San Antonio, their staff and their players a lot of credit. They just stayed with it, stayed with it, tried to execute, tried to execute, tried to execute, and we did not do a good job with the details. I think it’s a combination of both because they had to execute their actions, and then we had to make sure that we tried to execute our defensive responsibilities, and we didn’t do a really good job with it.”
On struggling to overcome the whistle and the Spurs’ execution:
“Now, we didn’t play good. San Antonio played great. We could’ve played better, there were a lot of things that we didn’t do that we did in Game 1 and Game 2. But to go 24 free throw attempts in a second half… compared to eight. All the shots we took, we got fouled four times roughly for eight free throw attempts. Again, I don’t complain much, but I never thought I’d see that in an NBA Finals game, and I saw it tonight. That’s tough to overcome when you’re playing a great team.”
On the stagnant offense and turnover issues:
“Offensively, we were as stagnant as I’ve seen us all year. We just wanted to stand and watch one guy dribble a ton, and then when the ball got passed, there were no quick decisions by the guy receiving the basketball. You have to be smart, you have to do a good job taking care of the basketball, you have to move the ball and move bodies, and we’ve done that quite a bit but we didn’t do a good job of it tonight, which helped with the 13 turnovers… the turnover situation, the free throw situation, and our attention to detail about keeping them out of the paint and taking away the vertical threat, not good tonight.”
On the offense devolving into drag and no movement:
“It was the way we played and the things that we were doing offensively. We were just coming down and just basically playing ‘drag.’ We’d get the first screen, and then we literally just stood and watched. There was no movement. Like, sometimes KAT has to flash to the elbow. Sometimes he’s got to post up. … They are junking the game up by just putting [Victor Wembanyama] in one of the two corners. So if they junk the game up, I can call a play. But sometimes you’re going to have to just move and cut and pass the ball quicker and drive the ball quicker, because it’s almost a zone that they are in to a certain degree, and we didn’t do a good job of attacking it.”
On Jose Alvarado stabilizing the team in Game 3:
“He was huge. We talked about it during our film session. When Jalen went out of the game, he came in and he kind of stabilized us because we were floundering a little bit. He got us into our offense.”
On his first time coaching at MSG in the Finals:
“I was like, holy crap, I can’t believe this is where I’m going to be coaching. The biggest thing was when I got to the bench where we sit, and I kind of turned and looked at the crowd; I saw my wife and family, like, three rows back, I was like, dang, thanks, Mr. Dolan; that’s pretty nice. Just obviously the building, but more importantly when you get in and you look, for me, I see my family right there, then obviously all the stars. It makes it feel different than almost any other building you’ve been in.”
On meeting Ben Stiller and telling his wife to go get a picture:
“Ben Stiller was over there. I don’t think I’ve ever met Ben, but he was over there, and she was like, ‘Ben’s over there.’ I was like, ‘Go get a picture. I’m sure he’ll take a picture with you.’ [She was like], ‘No, I can’t do it.’”
On encouraging his wife to approach Stiller:
“When you see him next time, approach him. He’s gonna take a picture with you.”
On hoping adversity helps everyone involved:
“You’re going to hit some adversity throughout the course of the season, and this is what I talked about when I said, you know, you hoped you hit adversity because you want to see how everybody reacts, not just the players. I want to see how Mr. [James] Dolan was going to react. I want to see how [team president] Leon Rose is going to react, their group, on top of the players. Because one of them, all of them, can get pissed at me and say, screw this, we’re done. Or you could try to keep fighting, stay even-keeled and try to figure it out.”
On Brunson’s MVP snub:
“He did not get the attention that he deserved during the regular season. I think he’s a top-three MVP candidate, and when it comes down to those things, his name wasn’t mentioned much.”
On the Finals elevating Brunson’s recognition:
“Playing in the Finals, leading your team to first place in the regular season in either conference, that gives you more recognition. So something like this should definitely help and help everybody wake up a little bit and understand what type of player he is and, just as importantly, what type of person he is.”
On being forced to stay at an NYC hotel before Game 3:
“I’ve never done that for a [home] game before. But it’s easier because we’re practicing here.”
On the energy brought by former Knicks legends being around the team:
“It truly means a lot, because when they’re on the sidelines or baselines or whatever, they make their presence known. They’re full of energy. That’s just who they are. They just want the best for us, and it’s a really cool sight to see. It’s an honor to play for this organization, the history it has, to see the former players around all the time, that makes it even more special.”
Jalen Brunson
On learning from the Game 3 loss and the end of the 13-game winning streak:
“I think win or lose as a team, our mindset is always get better the next day. We’ve tried our best to learn from wins over the past couple of weeks, but now we have to learn from a loss. But I think the most important thing was that we were going to learn regardless, because we knew that there were things we were gonna have to improve heading into the next game, so the mindset stays the same.”
On turnovers and transition defense issues on Monday:
“I think we turned the ball over a lot, first and foremost, and also we were fouling a lot and put them at the line about 30 times. With our live ball turnovers, got them out in transition.”
On the offense becoming stagnant:
“I liked some of the looks, but I also think we were pretty stagnant. There’s definitely things that we can learn from. Especially with our approach when we start the game and with the way we start the half, I don’t think we did well and I don’t think I did well, either.”
On Wembanyama’s MMA move on him:
“Whatever you saw is what you saw.”
On seeing Luka Doncic’s effortless game early in his career:
“Just seeing how effortlessly he did everything, it really made me question myself. I had to do all this work just to be in this position.”
On learning through experience:
“The biggest experience you get is actually going through things.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On the need for starting the game and third quarters better:
“You knew they were going to come out with a sense of urgency and a sense of desperation. We should have started the game off better. We should have started the third quarter off better. So, you know, back to 0-0.”
On failing to play the game that fueled the 13-game streak:
“Didn’t do what got us 13 straight wins in a row. That’s how you lose a game. We didn’t do what we’ve been doing for 13. We decided to do something different, and it ain’t going to work.”
On the Spurs earning it and the Knicks not doing their job:
“They were great. But we didn’t do our job.”
On rejecting officiating as the reason for the loss:
“Nah, that ain’t what cost us the game. Turning the ball over didn’t do what got us 13 wins in a row. That’s how you lose a game. We didn’t do what we did for the 13, we decided to play differently, and it ain’t gonna work when you’re throwing the ball away. It’s a clear indication of how you’re going to lose the game, especially in the playoffs.”
On letting MSG fans down in Game 3:
“Of course our fans brought it. They always do. Of course they lived up to the expectations and exceeded them. We didn’t do our job to give them something to cheer for after the game.”
On ignoring skeptics about his shooting ability early in his career:
“I worked on my game. When I was younger, that wasn’t something that was supposed to happen. You’re laughed at. You’re told, ‘What are you doing? You’re wasting your time. You’re never going to make it to college doing that.’”
On walking his own path to the NBA:
“A lot of people are going to tell you, ‘No,’ what they think you need to do to make it to the NBA, to do all these things. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to walk on your own path, write your own story. And that’s what I did.”
On receiving praise from former doubters:
“People come back to me and give me all the congrats and congratulations and all this love for something they didn’t help with; they told me to do the opposite. So, that’s how life always goes. Everyone’s got an opinion until someone actually does the work.”
Mikal Bridges
On his defensive performance in Game 3:
“Offensively, we got a little stagnant. We just gotta keep moving and spacing. They just played harder than us, more physical. It starts with me defensively. I think I did a bad job defensively. They scored a good amount of times when I was in in the beginning. And throughout the game, I think, really, for me, it starts with defense and feeding off that.”
On needing to respond in Game 4:
“We gotta be better. I gotta be better for next game. We’re gonna be all right. We’re gonna regroup and learn from our loss.”
On Wembanyama’s defensive impact on the game:
“His length is unmatched and he’s got good IQ. It definitely causes trouble. He’s DPOY for a reason.”
OG Anunoby
On moving forward after the loss:
“They’re a great team, as well. They weren’t just going to lay down. All we can do is move on and learn from this and take it as adversity and just respond to it.”
On the Knicks not being connected defensively in Game 3:
“We weren’t as connected as we normally are. We had some mental mishaps and allowed some easy buckets.”
On transition defense slipping in Monday’s loss:
“We weren’t as connected as we normally are. We had some mental mishaps and allowed some easy buckets, and also our transition defense wasn’t what we wanted it to be.”
On failing to handle the constant stoppages and stunted rhythm:
“Yeah, the stops and go, and all the fouls, that’s just how the game went today. I guess so. I guess it affects the rhythm, but we just have to deal with it. Every game is different. Some games there’s no stoppages and some games there’s a bunch. So we just have to respond and be professional and be ready to go.”
Josh Hart
On resetting after the Game 3 loss:
“Back to 0-0. Get back at it on Wednesday.”
On the Spurs’ urgency after trailing 2-0:
“It doesn’t surprise us at all. They were down 2-0. You knew they were going to come out with a sense of urgency and a sense of desperation. We should have started the game off better.”
On learning from Game 3 regardless of result:
“There’s a couple shots that didn’t fall that we had good looks on. I feel like we didn’t get enough stops during the game. We get stops, we play our brand of basketball, and you’re not worried about makes and misses. Like I said, we’ve got to learn from it, watch it tomorrow. At the end of the day, whether we won or lost, we’re going to do the same thing. Watch tomorrow, get better and prepare for the game on [Wednesday]. Same mentality.”
On Brown’s steady demeanor as head coach:
“He’s not too high, not too low. He allows himself to be coachable in the sense of listening to other coaches and players. He has our input instilled into what we do. He’s been the same all year long. That’s what you want as a coach; you don’t want him to get too high or too low. He has a real comfort in his role.”
Jordan Clarkson
On the Knicks’ early-game approach:
“We wanted to come out here and punch them first and do that. I think the turnovers were just a big part of where we messed up tonight.”
On failing to close out the game:
“They just made plays, honestly.”
Landry Shamet
On the Spurs’ Game 3 play:
“They came out, they made adjustments, they were more physical. They kicked our ass and we’ve gotta bounce back. We gotta look in the mirror and get better and we’ll do that. I feel good about knowing we can clean some things up. We’ll be better in Game 4.”
On Spurs’ paint game:
“They were really physical early. They played really fast. Got into the paint far too much for our liking. They were really aggressive. Castle had 18 points when I looked up at some point in the first half, so he had it going. Harper was getting into the paint. Fox. Wemby was catching lobs.”
On sticking to the process despite missing threes:
“Great process, got some great looks, had a few that were down and out. Process over outcome. I’m more upset about some of the things defensively that I’ve been priding myself on. I had a few possessions where I didn’t do my job like I needed to. That’s fixable. Sometimes the gods give you in and outs and the ball doesn’t go in.”
On the Garden atmosphere in Game 3:
“The city was crazy, you could feel it from Mars, I’m sure. New York was buzzing. A lot of energy. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a win from the home fans, but we’ll respond and we’ll be better.”
Jose Alvarado
On how to deal with Wembanyama:
“It’s hard. That’s why we try to get in the paint and spray it out. It’s a tough task.”
Mitch Johnson
On what pushed the Spurs to their first Finals win:
“The simple things. Game plan execution, starting in the right spots, early communication, good switching… and then just working through the possessions.”
On expecting a strong performance from Wembanyama:
“I don’t think any of us are surprised or expect anything different than strong performance and him being on his front foot in terms of attack mode”
On playing collectively and making strides offensively:
“I thought we made some strides in terms of ball movement, playing with our teammates, setting screens… I just thought we were in attack mode, but also as a collective group.”
Victor Wembanyama
On whether he’s a Knicks villain now:
“I guess. I’m nowhere near Trae Young level, though.”
On the MSG atmosphere compared to playing home:
“At home it really feels like playing six against five. Here it feels like five against six. … It really shows what teams are made of.”
On Stephon Castle’s maturity on the roster:
“Steph’s role? He might be the most mature player on our team. And he’s nowhere near the oldest. He’s shown over and over again he’s capable and that we are right to put our trust in him.”
On trying to relax during the playoffs:
“I really tried to relax. The playoffs, it’s like … a whirlwind. It’s hard to put your head out of the water. Sometimes I don’t even go to watch the game back right away. I need some time off, let my brain cool down, recover. Recover as much for the body as for the mind.”
Stephon Castle
On not feeling relief after the Game 3 win:
“I still feel like we haven’t really done anything.. obviously it feels good to win, especially on the road… we’re just looking forward to the next 48 minutes.”
On his last-second three and beig aware of the clock:
“Getting ready to go crash and try and rebound. At that point in the game, I feel like you gotta be alert and know the clock.”
De’Aaron Fox
On what changed for the Spurs after dropping two:
“Being able to sustain the high-level play and bouncing back quicker after New York runs.”
Rick Brunson
On defending JB during the Fox altercation in Game 2:
“I’m always gonna be a father first. But at the end of the day, if there was any other player, I’d do the same.”
On the surreal nature of his son’s rise:
“It’s crazy to me. I never envisioned, you know, to this level.”
On remembering the 1999 Finals run:
“I remember like it was yesterday, being here in ’99 trying to win a championship. But now it’s more exciting for me as a father to see your son on the stage and performing.”
On the perception of his relationship with Jalen:
“People may think just because he pushes me a certain way that we don’t say things to each other. But I wouldn’t trade anything for the world.”
On keeping Jalen confident regardless of results:
“I don’t rate Jalen on if the ball goes in or not. It’s just taking the right shot, taking his shot. Just try to keep him confident.”
Stephen A. Smith
On the president’s Game 3 attendance:
“This president has no business showing up in New York City. I am dead serious. It is selfish. It is narcissistic. It is ridiculous that he is coming to this game. This is not a football stadium in some space in Texas where you got a whole bunch of outlays. This is [Madison Square] Garden. This is midtown Manhattan. Do you have any idea what the congestion is going to be like in New York City?”
