Why do we have to wait one more day to enjoy another Knicks game?
Who would have thought, but turns out ballers also rest on weekends.
We don’t, so here’s another Bulletin presented by your very own.
Mike Brown
On not looking too far amid the NBA Finals:
“One of the things that we preach is being present. In order to be present, you can’t think about the past, you can’t think about the future. For all of us as humans, that’s hard as heck to do.”
On reminding himself to stay present:
“I constantly — boom — flick myself in the head. Tell myself: be present, be present, be present. I obviously mention it to the group, too. With those guys being who they are, they’ve really embraced it, and they’re really trying to live it every single moment during this run.”
On the Knicks’ supporting cast stepping up in Game 2:
“Somebody is always there. Mitch defensively at the end of the ballgame. Mikal during a stretch of the ballgame was huge for us on both ends of the floor. You’re not stopping a guy like De’Aaron Fox. You’ve just got to try to make him work. We put Mikal on Fox in the second half a little bit and made him work. But what he did for us offensively when we were struggling and then when we took Jalen out was huge. He made big play after big play after big play. Landry hit a couple of big shots. Deuce (McBride) came off the bench late and hit a big 3 for us. OG was huge on his drives. Again, a lot of contributions from a lot of guys, and that’s why you like having a team because it could be anybody’s night on any given night. Our guys don’t care. They sacrifice for one another and we found a way to get a win.”
On Mikal Bridges’ two-way impact in Game 2:
“[Bridges] was huge for us on both ends of the floor. You’re not stopping a guy like De’Aaron Fox. You’ve just got to try to make him work. We put Mikal on Fox in the second half a little bit and made him work. But what he did for us offensively when we were struggling and then when we took Jalen out was huge. He made big play after big play after big play.”
On Landry Shamet’s opportunity:
“I’m talking about his whole career because he’s been a journeyman, but he probably deserved more of an opportunity because what he does out on the floor on both ends is very hard to find in this league, especially at his size, with is mental and physical toughness. We gave him an opportunity and showed him we loved him. He embraced it and he ran with it.”
On recruiting Shamet to New York:
“When I first got the job, I called Landry. I said, ‘hey, I want you here.’ I’m sorry about the way the circumstances are contractually. I have nothing to do with that, but I believe you can help us.”
Jalen Brunson
On keeping a 0-0 mindset heading into Game 3:
“I think our mindset was 0-0, not being up 1-0. Even with the series it is now, next game, mindset has to be 0-0 again. It’s just how it has to be. You can’t be comfortable. You can’t be satisfied with anything. Just continue to push forward.”
On trusting his teammates and working in the shadows:
“That’s just who they are. That’s who my teammates are. Night in and night out, they come and bring it. There’s always going to be things said, regardless of the situation, but I have the utmost trust and faith in them just because of the work ethic and the things that we’re able to do every day. When there’s no cameras and when we’re in the practice gym, when we’re in film, when we’re trying to be the best team that we can be, that’s when, in those moments, that’s when we grow.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On New York’s energy through Game 2:
“New York City showed up. The fans showed up. The energy showed up.”
On shutting down the narrative about Brunson’s struggles in the Finals:
“I’ll leave that question to you and everyone else. I’m just worried about the team result, which is winning. And for JB, you call it rough shooting nights. I see him hitting the free throw to give us the game, get Mitch a chance to get the stop for us to win the game. The last game, he hit some of the craziest shots I’ve seen to give us the game. So I don’t know if you say a rough shooting night. I see Captain Clutch doing what he’s always been doing since I got here . . . You know, he’s a huge part when it comes down to the actual, the game, to winning the game. Number 11 can’t be messed with.”
On the Knicks’ unity as the foundation of its success:
“This team leans on each other. I think that’s why we’ve gotten here. That’s why we had the success we had during the regular season even when things weren’t going great, because at the end of the day, when things do get tough and the trials and tribulations do present themselves, this team doesn’t disband. They don’t go away from each other. We lean into each other even more. We trust each other even more to get out of the rut. That’s what special teams do. Jalen knows. He has a national championship, and you’ve seen the camaraderie and unity they have.”
On the importance of enjoying the grind of the game:
“I didn’t get (a college championship), but I know the success I did have in my career has always come down to one thing: It’s been the unity of the team. How well does that team truly enjoy being in each other’s presence? Because the NBA season is a grind, and you’re going to be with each other more than you’re going to be with your families, your kids, and if you guys don’t truly enjoy the grind and the work that needs to be put in together, I don’t think success is possible. So it’s a testament to these guys, that’s where resiliency comes from, that we don’t want to let each other down. We do look at each other as family, as brothers, and we don’t ever want to see each other not succeed.”
Josh Hart
On the 2-0 lead meaning nothing:
“It’s still 0-0 as far as we’re concerned. Being up 2-0 means really nothing. The Spurs are going to come out on Monday [in Game 3] with an unbelievable amount of energy and desperation, and we’ve got to be better.”
De’Aaron Fox
On trying to avoid making the wrong kind of history:
“We just got to try to make history not repeat itself.”
Stephon Castle
On the Spurs feeling good heading into Game 3 with a 2-0 deficit:
“It was going to take everything to win the series anyway. Putting ourselves in this type of predicament is going to be tough, but I don’t think it’s anything we can’t handle.”
Walt Frazier
On Victor Wembanyama’s missed game-winning jumper:
“I saw [the last jumper was off]. I could look at his face. He wasn’t shooting with confidence. He’s fatigued. He doesn’t know how to pace himself. That turnover? He was exhausted. Come on, that was egregious. [And then the] foul? Come on, man, you just lost the ball. Why are you fouling? You see, when you get tired mentally, you’re losing … a little calamity. And it cost them the game.”
On whether the series will return to San Antonio for Game 5:
“I don’t think so. I think it’s our destiny now, the way things have unfolded for the Knicks. Every game — the grit, the resiliency, the resourcefulness. I don’t see it ending, because we’ve got 10 guys that are thriving. So, like tonight, Jalen was mediocre, and somebody steps up. And it’s been that way.”
Jeremy Lin
On the Spurs’ inexperience showing up late in Game 2:
“The Spurs have so much heart. 14-0 run to come back into the game, but the last 30 seconds, just so much inexperience. Whether you want to call it youth, whether you want to call it fatigue, it just wasn’t it.”
On the Spurs’ awful late-game decision-making:
“The first play: another isolation for Wemby with 30 seconds, tough shot over Mitchell Robinson. Then you have a turnover, then you have a foul. I mean, they had the game where you have the ball with 12 seconds left, it’s a tie game, there’s no way you should be able to ever lose that game.”
On the contrast to the Knicks’ late-game approach:
“If the roles were reversed, the Knicks get the ball, what do they do? They will immediately find Brunson and he will immediately find the mismatch that he wants. But the Spurs, when they get the ball, they’re not really sure. So Wemby’s dribbling up, Castle’s not even looking for it, they don’t know who’s going to take charge, is there a timeout to be called or not. It just seemed, as Wemby said, very blurry.”
On wanting a private conversation with Carmelo Anthony going public on his podcast:
“I know our teams are in contact. My desire is still the same. I’d like to have a private conversation before having a public recorded conversation. That’s my goal right now — to be able to have that private conversation. Would love, of course, to go on the podcast and talk about those things. And talk about things publicly afterward.
“I do think a private conversation would go a long way in terms of being able to work through, talk through, go back and hash things out about how things ended. I think that would be super healthy, so I think that would be amazing. You can sense and tell that there’s not that hostility or ill will. Or not rooting for the other person. It’s just something that we can go back and have that discussion about.”
On not wanting to guess about issues Melo has hinted at:
“I can guess [what the issues are], but I don’t think it would do Melo justice for me to guess what I think he might mean.”
On returning to Madison Square Garden for Games 3 and 4:
“I will be going back as a spectator for the first time ever. After leaving the Knicks, I did play against the Knicks multiple times, but I have never been back to The Garden as a spectator. This will be my first time in 14 years back at The Garden, not as an opposing player. I can’t wait. I really genuinely can’t wait for Game 3 and 4.”
On the Knicks inviting him back to the Garden:
“A big shoutout to the Knicks. They have been really adamant and consistent about trying to get me to go back to a game. I’ve always had the desire. It’s not that I didn’t want to, I was just always still playing. I won’t be courtside, but I will be in the first two rows.”
Stephon Marbury
On how Becky Hammon must be feeling these days:
“She’s going to be on her knees praying for us to lose. I love this feeling. Up 2-0 with this comment hanging over the heads of all New Yorkers. This is what sports is about.”
Charles Oakley
On Adam Silver’s recent comments about his mediation efforts to bring him to MSG:
“I want to talk about the series. I want to talk about the commissioner lying again. When the commissioner is talking about with him and Michael Jordan, he’s throwing Michael Jordan under the bus. That’s what he’s really doing. He’s trying to have a conversation like they just talked yesterday. He’s coming back out with something from 2017 when we met with that guy from New York, Michael, and himself. And he’s trying to act like they tried to solve a problem. And he went to the public in 2017 said we met and we came to an agreement that this is over with. And now you look in the paper he’s making another statement about that, but you didn’t solve the problem in 2017 cuz it’s nine years later and it’s still going on.”
On whether there was a new meeting with James Dolan and others:
“No. He’s lying again. It’s two times in this case he has lied about. He lied about putting the statement out that what happened. And he’s lying now like they talked two days ago. No, he didn’t. I haven’t talked to James, I’ve been to court with James. And we tried to settle and he said no. So, this has been a whole thing of they ain’t blackballing me from the NBA.”
Fat Joe
On his message to Shaquille O’Neal before Game 2:
“You don’t believe, Shaq.”
On his message after the Knicks went up 2-0:
“This, this is our year. New York City, this is our year.”
On Knicks fans invading San Antonio:
“We here, we here. We are not playing. Shoutout to San Antonio, great guys, great basketball program. Tim Duncan—my favorite power forward of all time.”
Marv Albert
On how the Knicks have captivated New York:
“They have captivated the city. The crowd, now, aside from the crowd at the Garden, which is off the charts in terms of the sounds of rooting and all that, but [also] with the crazy party that went on at the Garden, which they stopped because they had some problems and then they resumed. Then you have huge turnouts at Radio City Music Hall or watch parties at the Garden, and you didn’t have them in those days [in the ’70s]. I don’t know if you’d get the same number of people. People are really excited about this team. The Mets and the Yankees and the Jets and Giants, if they win, would have a very good reaction. I don’t know if it would be the same as this. This is really unusual. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s extraordinary.”
On New York as a hoops city:
“It’s always been different than other teams in the league. Because New York City and its suburbs are such a basketball-geared area. All you need is the basket, the backboard and the ball and you go down to the schoolyard, that’s what we used to do. That’s what kids still do. It’s crazy about basketball — krazy with a K.”
Kevin Garnett
On the Knicks overwhelming the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama:
“He’s not seen this. He’s gon turn around and see this sea of Blue and Orange, and no one’s seen this. It’s gon look like lava. Have you ever seen the streets of New York like this? This is like all the parades put in one.
“Knicks finna smash ’em. Aight, n—a, can the boy play in the pressure cooker? Huh? Can he come in Madison Square Garden and play? And ain’t no going to play no chess and going to Carbone, and think you going to be in the streets of New York. Nah n—a, you gonna be in that hotel room. Ain’t no going out, n—a. You don’t want to be out in this storm. You don’t want to be out in this Knicks storm, n—a. That’s crazy, f–k this n—a talkin’ bout? Knicks gonna bone these n—-s. You ready?”
Kendrick Perkins
On the Knicks’ togetherness and trust being key for their postseason run:
“They got what you call ‘togetherness.’ For Towns to start the game on Wemby, that’s what you call trust. For Mike Brown to continue to lean on Landry Shamet, he played 32 minutes; that’s what you call trust. You could see and feel the energy through the television screen. It’s led by big-body Brunson, but every guy’s been a star in their role. Every guy is being unlocked in a different fashion that they never been unlocked in their career.”
Brian Windhorst
On Towns outplaying Wembanyama in the Finals:
“They’re winning because Karl-Anthony Towns totally outplayed Victor Wembanyama in the first half of this game in a way that we never expected to see.”
Stephen A. Smith
On urging Donald Trump to skip Game 3:
“He’s coming to Game 3 of the Finals, and I don’t want him there. He’s coming to Game 4 of the Finals, and I don’t want him there. And it has nothing to do with politics, policy, or anything like that. It has everything to do with him disrupting and contributing at the same time to the chaos that’s going to be existing at Madison Square Garden.
“If it were Barack Obama coming to the Garden, I would say, ‘Stay home.’ Stay at the White House. I have been covering sports for over 30 years. And I’m telling you right now, come Monday, for Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, I expect to see an environment I have never seen in my entire career covering sports.”
No. 47
On attending Game 3 and praising the Knicks’ Jim Dolan:
“[The Knicks] find a way to do it. They’re really great, a great team. I’m happy for Jim because Jim has really been fighting hard to produce such a team.”
On the record-breaking MSG Game 3 ticket prices:
“You can watch it on television. It’s sort of semi-free to watch it on television. That’s the way life goes. Now, if the team wasn’t a big success, you can go very easily. You can do that too. But that’s the way life is.”
