After dropping a heartbreaking Game 2 to the Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks hit the road for a pivotal Game 3 in Atlanta on Thursday night.
Before leaving town, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges met with reporters on Wednesday, looking back on exactly what went wrong in Game 2.
The Knicks, of course, led by double digits entering the fourth quarter, but were outscored 28-15 in the final 12 minutes, falling 107-106 as a buzzer-beater attempt by Bridges came up short.
While a 2-0 lead would feel a lot more comfortable for the Knicks than having the series tied heading into Atlanta, Bridges explained that there’s still plenty to take away from the disappointment of the last game.
“You always want to get better in a win, but sometimes you need a loss to dive in on the things that you’re not doing well,” Bridges said. “That’s a good team, too, so it’s not like it’s going to be easy. Just gotta learn from it and bring that fire to the next game.”
So what exactly did go wrong for the Knicks in that second half? According to Hart, the team didn’t play with the same physical edge as they brought in the first six quarters of the first-round series.
“I feel like we didn’t have that physicality that we did Game 1 and in the first half. I think that was the biggest thing,” said Hart, who finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds. “When you lose that physicality, then you allow them to kind of move at their own pace and dictate their offense, instead of you dictating it. We just have to make sure we’re physical and pay attention to detail and focused for a full 48 [minutes].”
“That’s a game we should have won,” Hart added. “Watching the film, obviously it reenforces that. You see just a small area that you had a little bit of slippage on, and that affects the outcome of the game. Obviously, we’ve got to make sure we’re locked in and focused for a full 48. It’s the playoffs. Basketball is a game of runs. You can go up 12, 14, and this team, they’re going to battle and they can go on a run and cut it to four. Now you just have to make sure you’re focused and locked in to punch back.”
The series now heads to Atlanta for the next two games, with the Hawks stealing homecourt advantage in the best-of-seven by splitting the two games at The Garden.
And while the Knicks won’t be playing in front of their home fans, Hart explained that sometimes going on the road can help bring a team together even more, especially in the playoffs.
“I think we have a really good group of guy, who especially during this time, we don’t care about anything else but winning,” Hart said. “We don’t care about point, touches, minutes, anything like that. We’re focused on winning the game, and when you have a collective group of guys who are willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the team, that’s where special things happen. And I think we have that kind of character in the locker room.
“When you go on the road, it’s just those guys in the locker room and no one else. So sometimes being on the road kind of helps you band together.”
Hart, Bridges and the rest of the Knicks tip off Game 3 with the Hawks in Atlanta on Thursday night at 7 p.m.
