Shout-out Mike Brown for losing Game 3 by one point, going four-against-five for the whole first half.
Shout-out Mikal Bridges, for helping folks forget about him and teaching the world that basketball was meant to be a four-player sport.
Here’s the latest from the ATL.
Mike Brown
On the Game 3 loss and the series outlook:
“The reality of it is, it’s a seven-game series for a reason. Stuff’s going to happen. Plenty of teams have been down 1-2, even OKC was down 1-2 last year and they ended up winning it. I’m not saying we’re going to win. … This should sting. We gave ourselves a chance knowing we didn’t play our best basketball, so it should sting. We need to feel it and be locked in for the next games.”
On his late-game play around Brunson:
“We cleared the side of the floor for him. That’s what we wanted to do. We wanted to zipper on the top of the floor and clear that right side of the floor for him ‘cause that’s what he’s comfortable doing and told him, ‘go win it.’”
On the free-throw discrepancy in Game 3:
“They’re closing out hard. And when they close out hard, we gotta drive the basketball. I do think it’s a tough game for the officials to officiate. But I know we got fouled on a few of the drives that didn’t get called. It’s tough to see 20-26 in a one-possession game when you know for sure there were a couple of fouls that should’ve been called.”
On his lineup decisions going forward and the possibility of benching Bridges:
“I mean, I’m not even thinking about that right now. But in the same breath, I’ve said it before, like you said, we have to look at everything, but I’m thinking still about the game and what we could’ve done better and all that other stuff before we get into that.”
On Bridges’ performance and the need for a bounceback:
“I’m not concerned. Mikal is a pro. He’s been there. He’s played hundreds of basketball games, so he’ll be fine.”
On choosing a small lineup for the final defensive play:
“The way the game was being played, the different runs we made and the different combinations I threw out there, I just went with what I felt the game called for at that time.This is what the game called for, and that’s what I went with.”
On what hurt the Knicks:
“They did a good job of taking care of the basketball. They were pretty aggressive. Atlanta, they’re trying to get up in us, they’re trying to speed us up, they’re playing physical, and when you face that type of defense, you can’t play on your heels. You can’t be passive at all. You got to be able to rip that ball through and get to the rim. Or if they close out hard, you gotta be able to snap drive and get to the rim. That group did a pretty good job of it. They did a pretty good job of trying to get out in transition, too. And then they did a pretty good job of trying to get stops defensively. That’s something that we all have to recognize and embrace.”
On why Robinson is barely playing:
“We need something from everybody, and the reality of what happened was — we ended up going with KAT. KAT played a significant amount of minutes for us because he was rolling in that second half.”
Jalen Brunson
On failing to execute the game plan:
“I think he’s been great in making sure we’re in the right positions to be successful. It’s just on us to execute them.”
On what went wrong at the end of Game 3:
“I wish I had a better answer for you. I don’t know right now. There are a lot of things I need to be better at. That’s a missed opportunity for sure.”
On Knicks fans on the road:
“Whenever we play and we see Knicks fans here, Knicks fans make it known. So it’s always a pleasure. It’s always a very cool thing to hear. When you’re in the opposing arenas.”
Mitchell Robinson
On the Knicks’ coaching staff getting them ready for everything:
“[Our coaching staff] gets to every detail of the game, literally everything. They break it down, see what needs to be changed, what doesn’t, what we need, you know: bring more intensity out of us and stuff like that. I mean it’s been great learning from him. It’s been amazing.”
On the lack of physicality in Game 2:
“Hell no, we weren’t physical at all. So physicality, make everything get physical. You know, just play ball and stay locked in and just fight.”
On embracing the playoffs:
“Hell yeah, I love this (expletive). This (expletive) is fun. This is what it’s about. Getting in, getting active. I’m ready to go.”
On the Hack-a-Mitch strategy:
“I mean, yeah, I feel like they want to get me off the court, so I know I’m threatening they ass and it be like that.”
On his free-throw confidence:
“I’ve been shooting a lot of free throws. I’ve been getting the ball in the air. Routine is straight. So I’ve been shooting it good. Sometimes, it go in; sometimes, it don’t. Confidence still high, so still ready to go.”
On playing posteason games on the road:
“I like playing away. I think I play better away than I ever do at home. I don’t know, the energy. It’s like me versus the world.”
Mikal Bridges
On his turnovers in Game 3:
“Had more turnovers than I had the two games combined. Just sloppy overall. But I’ve just got to be better so I can be out there.”
On taking accountability for his no-show job:
“There’s no other way…it’s a tough one, I’ve got to take it on the chin and handle it how I’m supposed to. It’s going to suck, it is what it is. I’ve got to be better and help my team out there.”
On his overall struggles in Game 3:
“Just a bad turnover day for me. Got to clean that up, it’s on me. We’ve got to put it all together. Starts with me, I’ve got to be better. We’ve got to play as a team and fight for all 48.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On the Game 3 loss:
“It hurts when you give yourself a chance to win – last game, this game, it hurts that we put ourselves in a position to win and we just didn’t close – it’s tough, but we have to keep our heads up.”
On what his stats mean in a loss:
“It don’t mean anything if you don’t win, honestly. That’s the answer.”
Josh Hart
On the urgency in the first-round series:
“We’re down, 2-1. Right now, there’s no room to feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got another one on Saturday at 6 o’clock. So it’s a quick turnaround. We’ve got to make sure we regroup and go out focused for Game 4.”
On defending McCollum:
“I just tried to make it tough for him. That was the biggest thing, just try to make it tough for him, force him into tough shots.”
On his Game 3 shooting:
“I just…they just didn’t go. I thought the corner one was good. I gotta make ’em.”
On the 3-point shooting failing to work:
“I feel like we had good shots. We didn’t knock them down.”
COVERS INTEL: