The New York Knicks somehow, some way, silenced the doubters and the haters by beating a .500-plus team for the first time in a month.
Y’all happy now?
Here’s the latest and spiciest quotes coming straight outta Magic City.
Mike Brown
On the Brunson-Towns
two-man game against the Hawks:
“KAT and Jalen … they did what they were supposed to do. It’s no secret that we put them in the two-man game, and those guys delivered on the offensive end of the floor along with everyone else.”
On team composure late:
“Our guys stayed with it, and there wasn’t a panic. The bench was really, really good. Just the chatter. Guys were encouraging one another and uplifting one another. Jose hadn’t played the last couple of games, and he was more into the game than anyone else. His words were really good and helped during the times when we got down.”
On Brunson closing Monday’s game:
“It wasn’t necessarily going his way the whole night. But he stayed with it and did what great players are supposed to do and carried us home down the stretch.”
On the heave that could have sent the game to OT:
“It’s tricky. If he misses it, obviously it’s a long heave. But if you foul him on the rebound or you foul him when he’s turning to heave it now they get three free throws. It’s something we’ve talked about before — it’s still a toss-up situation. … The whole thing was at worst they’ll tie it and we’ll go to overtime. Lesson learned on a couple possessions down the stretch.”
On Brunson’s scoring ability:
“It’s huge to know a guy like Jalen can shoot and score the way he does. On top of that, he’s crafty.”
On sticking with the starting five:
“I don’t believe in never ever. But right now we’re going to start that five and that’s how I foresee it. If I feel I need to make a change at any time, I’ll make a change. But I don’t feel that way right now.”
On lineup debates and potential starting-five change:
“There’s debate literally all the time. Obviously there was a debate at the start of the season when we started two bigs. And there was debate almost every day because I was the only one with that plan – and I was getting hammered this angle, that angle, every angle. So we talked about it a lot. That’s just chatter that you have throughout the course of the year, trying to ways to improve your team. So I think there’s always going to be chatter about it. But there’s nothing I’ve felt close to acting on yet.”
Jalen Brunson
On his fourth-quarter surge:
“The ball found a way to go in the hoop for me.”
On the win over Atlanta:
“Happy with the way we finished the game. They came to fight and put us on our heels, but we found a way to come back every time with an answer and find a way to win.”
On maintaining his confidence even after struggling during the first half on Monday:
“Just found a way to keep my confidence. Obviously, things aren’t going to be perfect all the time but you trust your work and find a way.”
On Josh Hart’s late improvements:
“To be honest, it’s all about how you respond. Things aren’t going to be perfect. You’re going to have bad stretches. You’re going to have things that don’t go your way. You’re going to do things that seem easy but don’t go your way. It’s all about how you respond.”
On the need to finish games strong every time out:
“I think everything matters. So regardless if you’re up 30, down 30, if it’s a close game, the way you finish games translates to the next game. So being able to have that rhythm going into the next game is really important for us.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On the clutch-time execution with Brunson:
“It was great. Obviously, give credit to all of our teammates who put us in the position to be there and have a chance to win. We have one of the best closers in the NBA in Brunson, so you feel good about your chances. We were just ready for the moment. It was funny. I thought, in the moment, I’d have to hit a big shot for us to win, and it ended up being three assists. I just accepted what the defense gave and Brunson hit the shots, which he’s been known to do when the game matters.”
On rising expectations:
“The perception and standards have obviously changed for us ever since we made that stride last year in the playoffs. Getting through the first round, we weren’t supposed to make it out of there. Then the second round, we definitely weren’t supposed to be making it out of there. We showed the world that we can beat these teams, especially in the playoffs. But in doing that, we put the antennas up for the rest of the league as well. They know what we can do and on top of that, coming in with the expectations we had this year, finding a way to win the NBA Cup. Even through all the ups and downs, finding ourselves the third seed. The world is not unaware of how good we are. But it’s up to us to execute in a seven-game series and be disciplined and find a way to win.”
On embracing pressure:
“Me, personally, I’ve been dealing with expectations since before I stepped into the league. Honestly, it’s really the same thing. It’s been the story of my career. Dealing with expectations that are lofty. On top of that, the expectations I have for myself are even higher than what people give me. So I have a lot of work to do. But I’ve been used to it. So it’s a blessing to have pressure.”
On treating the stretch like playoffs:
“The playoffs should’ve started 10 games ago for us. We should be building on our standards all year. That’s what the goal was. We have four good games where we can get some good tape, get our coverages right. See how we can execute different coverages, different things. And we could just find different ways to show what we can do, and have adjustments ready to go in the playoffs.”
On his elbow issue:
“It is what it is at this point.”
Jose Alvarado
On being ready all day every day:
“I’m good. I’m chilling. I’m ready for my moment. I’m ready for my name to get called whenever it is. … So just whenever it’s Jose’s time, whenever that time is, I’m ready.”
